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OBITUARY: Franklin Jay Pepper, Prominent Psychiatrist, Was 89

Survived by wife of 58 years, former Alexandria City Council member and Vice Mayor, Del Pepper

White-haired man smiling
Franklin Jay Pepper, 1935 – 2025. (Photo: Pepper Family)

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Franklin Jay Pepper, a prominent psychiatrist and husband of former Alexandria City Council member and Vice Mayor Del Pepper, died Jan. 6 at his West End home following a long illness. He was 89.

Known as F.J., Pepper was born March 21, 1935, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the eldest of four children: brothers Maurice Jr. and John (predeceased) and a sister, Sara Epstein, born to Dr. Maurice L. Pepper and Ramona Slosburg Pepper.

Pepper attended the University of Nebraska, earning a B.A. in 1954 and M.S. in 1958. He graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Omaha, in 1965. He spent more than 60 years as a practicing physician in the Washington, DC area following his move to Alexandria in 1968.

Pepper served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Captain, from 1966-68. He was a battalion surgeon in Vietnam and was awarded a Bronze Star-“M,” the Combat Medical Badge, and the, Air Medal.

F.J. was a member of multiple organizations that include The Alexandria and Virginia Democratic Committees. He was also a lifetime member and honoree of the NAACP. F.J could name 28 Masonic bodies of which he was or had been a member. He was formerly the President of the Nebraska University Phi Delta Theta.

Pepper is survived by his wife of 58 years, Del Pepper, son Murphy Pepper, daughter-in-law Soo Pepper, and five grandchildren: Katherine (Katie), Judah, Elizabeth, Macsen, and Mary.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, January 26, 2025, from 4-6 p.m. at Everly-Wheatley Funeral Home & Crematory, 1500 W Braddock Rd., Alexandria, VA 22302. A private interment will take place later at the Ivy Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

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