J. David (Dave) Pepper, 59, passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on Saturday, December 28, 2019 at his home in Barrington, Illinois. He was born in Evanston on January 15, 1960 to Richard and Roxelyn Pepper. He was a civil engineering graduate of Iowa State University, where he met his wife, Katy. Dave served as CEO of Pepper Construction Group and lived his life in service to others and was widely known for his kindness and generosity.
Dave's life centered around his family and friends. He enjoyed cooking, boating and travelling and frequently said that being part of his family was the best leadership lesson of his life. He believed that values shape lives, particularly through unexpected turns, and Dave instilled honesty, gratitude and openness into the culture of Pepper Construction, which he led from 2003.
Dave was known as a champion of education and held multiple leadership roles including president of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) Education and Research Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to improving the science of construction. Dave was also involved in workforce readiness and school mentoring programs. Most recently, Dave served on the Providence St. Mel School Board of Trustees; the Dominican University Board of Trustees; Junior Achievement of Chicago's Board of Directors and Executive Committee; and served as a Management Trustee to the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and supported their educational programs over several decades.
Dave also actively served the community as a member at St. Michael’s Episcopal church and was a member of the Economic Club of Chicago; The Chicago Club; the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation and The Commercial Club of Chicago. Dave leaves behind his loving wife Katy and their three children, Ali, Lauren and Colin; as well as his parents, Richard and Roxelyn Pepper; brothers, Dick, Stan, Scot; and sisters, Lisa and Lynda; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
A memorial visitation will be held Friday, January 3, from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church located at 647 Dundee Avenue in Barrington. The memorial service will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 4 at the church. Additional parking will be available across the street at St. Matthew Lutheran Church located at 720 Dundee Avenue.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Dave's memory can be made to Bishop Anderson House at https://www.bishopandersonhouse.org/donate/ and St. Michael's Youth Program at 847-381-2323 or info@stmichaelsbarrington.org. For more information, or to sign the guestbook please visit https://www.davenportfamily.com/notices/JamesDave-Pepper.
Related Stories
| May 10, 2012
Chapter 3 How Building Technologies Contribute to Reconstruction Advances
Building Teams are employing a wide variety of components and systems in their reconstruction projects.
| May 10, 2012
Chapter 2 Exemplary High-Performance Reconstruction Projects
Several case studies show how to successfully renovate existing structures into high-performance buildings.
| May 9, 2012
Chapter 1 Reconstruction: ‘The 99% Solution’ for Energy Savings in Buildings
As a share of total construction activity reconstruction has been on the rise in the U.S. and Canada in the last few years, which creates a golden opportunity for extensive energy savings.
| May 9, 2012
International green building speaker to keynote Australia’s largest building systems trade show
Green building, sustainability consultant, green building book author Jerry Yudelson will be the keynote speaker at the Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Building Systems (ARBS) conference in Melbourne, Australia.
| May 9, 2012
Tishman delivers Revel six weeks early
Revel stands more than 730 feet tall, consists of over 6.3 milliont--sf of space, and is enclosed by 836,762-sf of glass.
| May 9, 2012
Stoddert Elementary School in DC wins first US DOE Green Ribbon School Award
Sustainable materials, operational efficiency, and student engagement create high-performance, healthy environment for life-long learning.
| May 9, 2012
Shepley Bulfinch given IIDA Design award for Woodruff Library?
The design challenges included creating an entry sequence to orient patrons and highlight services; establishing a sense of identity visible from the exterior; and providing a flexible extended-hours access for part of the learning commons.
| May 9, 2012
Construction Defect Symposium will examine strategies for reducing litigation costs
July event in Key West will target decision makers in the insurance and construction industries.
| May 8, 2012
WDMA and AAMA release window, door & skylight market studies
Historic data for 2006 through 2011 and forecast data for 2012 through 2015 are included in the report.
| May 8, 2012
Study presents snapshot of domestic violence shelter services
Unique partnership of architects and domestic violence advocates brings new strategies for emergency housing.
