Pepping, Raymond Austin

American engineer. Headed the Mercury, Gemini, and Skylab programs at McDonnell Saint Louis

Pepping, the son of a German real estate salesman, grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri. In 1957-1961 he led the McDonnell team that gained the company the Mercury and Gemini manned spacecraft contracts. He later worked on the Skylab project. After retirement from McDonnell-Douglas, he continued to be prominent in Missouri charitable causes.

Biography

Raymond A. Pepping of Ballwin, Mo., died Sept. 30, 2007. He was 88. Mr. Pepping was a mechanical engineer for McDonnell Douglas. He served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1946. He was born Nov. 8, 1918, in St. Louis, Mo. Mr. Pepping is survived by his wife, Sue (Sheffield) Pepping; daughter, Janet (Edward) McAllister; three grandchildren; and other relatives. He was preceded in death by his son, Eric Philip Pepping; and sisters, Virginia Dimza, Jean Kaufmann and Ruth Sanders Clover.