Karl Cadem Lemp

Karl Cadem Lemp, 94, died on January 9, 2025, in Easton, MD, with his family by his side. In his later years, Karl often observed how lucky he had been in both his wife and his children, and we feel the same way about him.

Karl was born April 8, 1930, in Boston, MA, and was educated first in the Dedham public school system and then at Roxbury Latin School, his "proudest and most formative experience." He completed his early education at Phillips Academy in Andover, where he was elected to the Aurelian Honor Society, and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Amherst College, with a B.A. in Greek and English Literature. He completed a J.D. at Harvard Law School, where he was one of the winners of the 1956 Ames Moot Court Competition; was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship; and earned an M.A. in Classical Philology at Johns Hopkins University.

Karl married Anne Cathcart Bush in 1956 and taught Latin and Greek for several years, first at Phillips Academy and later at Gilman School in Baltimore, where he also coached varsity wrestling and intramural football and baseball. He worked briefly for the Board of Trustees of the Maryland State Colleges, helping convert five state colleges to liberal arts curricula, and spent most of his career at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he was promoted to the Senior Intelligence Service.

Karl and Anne lived in Kensington, MD, for nearly 25 years, where Karl served on the Town Council, tutored kids from the Ken-Gar community, coached baseball, and helped nurture a very happy family. After retiring to Easton in 1990, Karl spent many happy hours reading, taking long walks with Anne, gardening, woodworking, and volunteering with local organizations, including the Talbot County Free Library, CASA of the Mid-Shore, FoodLink of Talbot County, and Talbot Preservation Alliance. In addition, he and Anne were a regular presence at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Easton for many years.

A man who always kept a dictionary at his elbow, Karl's love of words has been inherited by his children and grandchildren. He was quick to laugh, generous to a fault, and tried hard to understand himself and others. Karl was a man of some contradictions: highly accomplished but modest, serious-minded but often a prankster, gregarious but something of a loner, well-traveled but happiest at home. He loved music, from Frank Sinatra's tenor, to Chopin's nocturnes, to Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors. He admired women – Anne most of all – and thought them the superior gender. And like his wife, he believed that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was the true author of Shakespeare's works.

Karl was predeceased by his wife Anne, elder brother Frank Marcus Lemp, parents Frank Richard and Catherine Millicent (Cadem) Lemp, grandson Duncan Socrates Lemp, and a nephew, William Bush. He leaves behind four children: Cathy (Jeff Mitman), Robin (Marti), Matt (Mercedes), and Liz Fauerbach (Mike), along with five grandchildren (Tim, Anna, Atticus, Ben, and William), one great-grandson (Ryan Robinson), seven nieces and nehews, and many very good friends, past and present. His ashes will be scattered alongside Anne's at a small beach in Oxford, MD. Donations in Karl's memory may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Easton or the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship.