It is with sadness that Husch Blackwell announces the loss of one of the firm's founding fathers, Christian Peper. He passed away on July 11, 2011, at the age of 100.
"Christian Peper was the last true remaining Renaissance Man," said Bob Tomaso, Husch Blackwell Partner and member of the firm's Executive Committee. "A gentleman to his core, he was driven to learn as much as he could about art and literature. For 75 years, he came to the office almost every day, always looking elegant in a suit and tie. He called his law firm a 'Community of Scholars,' and he meant it. The world was a much richer place because of him, and is today much poorer."
Peper was born on December 5, 1910, in St. Louis and attended Our Lady of Lourdes grade school, St. Louis University High School, and graduated from Harvard College. He attended Washington University Law School and continued his education at Yale Law School where he received a Master of Law degree in 1936.
He founded St. Louis law firm Martin Peper Martin in 1941 with his close friend Malcolm Martin and Malcolm's father, William McChesney Martin. Over the years, the firm merged with a number of other law firms and is now known as Husch Blackwell LLP.
Peper practiced for a number of years in the corporate and estate planning areas. For many years, he served as legal counsel, and later as a benefactor, to The Saint Louis Art Museum. Peper served as trustee and was on the Museum's Collections Committee.