Obituaries 15 March 2017

Rev. J. David Pepper dies at 86

Rev. J. David Pepper age 86 of Lawler, died Sunday, Mar.12, 2017, at Linn Haven Rehab and Healthcare in New Hampton. A Memorial Mass will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, Mar. 16, 2017, at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, Lawler, with Archbishop Michael O. Jackels celebrating the Mass. Friends may greet the family an hour prior to the Mass at the church.Funeral arrangements with Hugeback - Johnson Funeral Home in Lawler.  Online condolences for Father Pepper's family may be left at hugebackfuneralhome.comThe Reverend J. David Pepper, the son of Raymond and Ethel (McGlynn) Pepper was born in Boone County, on Dec. 6, 1930. He attended the rural school of Boone County, Gilbert High School, Loras College and Mount Saint Bernard’s Seminary. Father Pepper was Ordained a priest on February 1, 1958, at St. Raphael’s Cathedral, Dubuque. Father served the parishes at St. Joseph’s in Marion; Immaculate Conception in Cedar Rapids; Sacred Heart in Waterloo; Nativity in Dubuque; St. Mary in Waverly; Holy Name in Shell Rock; St John in Clarion; our Lady of Mt. Carme, Lawler; and Our Lady of the Assumption, Little Turkey. He retired from the active priesthood in 1996 in Lawler.A highlight of Father’s career came during his pastorship at St Mary’s in Waverly. The sculpture “Dancing St. Francis” is a landmark on the Wartburg Campus and a gift from Father Pepper and others to the students of Wartburg, who enjoyed dressing the statue for the weather. Father made lasting friendships among the thousands of parishioners and faithfully served during his thirty-eight-year career.Father is survived by three sisters: Joan Kerrigan, Kate (Richard) Jordan and Mary Jensen, and two brothers’ Gene (Joan) Pepper and Bill (Ginny) Pepper, along with many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Phil, Bernhard, Raymond (Bud); and sisters Jane Pepper, Margaret McCartney, Betty Driver, and Bernadine Kalen.A Family gathering and Mass will be held at Sacred Heart in Boone at a later date.A grateful thank you to Grace Arens and her family for their care for Father over twenty years.   

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