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F.J. Pepper, a longtime Alexandria psychiatrist and the husband of former Vice Mayor Del Pepper, died Jan. 6 at his West End home after a long illness. He was 89.

Franklin Jay Pepper spent more than six decades practicing medicine and frequently treated patients who could not afford care. A Vietnam veteran, he was also known for steadfastly supporting his wife throughout her record-setting career on the Alexandria City Council.

The couple playfully embraced the nickname “Dr. Pepper,” often wearing merchandise bearing the soft drink brand’s logo.

Pepper and his future wife met in Nebraska while she was working a summer job at an Omaha library. Del Pepper recalled in a 2023 interview that he entered with a group of children she initially assumed were his. They were his nieces and nephews, whom he had agreed to take to the library in exchange for borrowing his brother’s car for a date that evening.

They married in 1966 and moved to Alexandria two years later. Pepper established his medical practice in the West End while Del Pepper entered politics. First elected to the City Council in 1985, she served for 36 years—including three terms as vice mayor—before retiring in 2022 as the longest-serving council member in city history.

Former Mayor Justin Wilson remembered Pepper as an accomplished psychiatrist, devoted husband and father, and a man whose enthusiasm and music enlivened the rooms he entered.

Born March 21, 1935, in Omaha, Pepper was the oldest of four children of Maurice L. Pepper and Ramona Slosburg Pepper. His father, a physician specializing in internal medicine and cardiology, inspired him to pursue medicine.

Pepper graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1965. Beyond his medical career, he was active in the Alexandria Democratic Committee and belonged to the Masons, Tall Cedars of Lebanon International, the NAACP and the Departmental Progressive Club.

He is survived by Del Pepper, his wife of 58 years; their son, Murphy Pepper; daughter-in-law, Soo Pepper; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service was planned for later in January, with arrangements handled by Everly-Wheatley Funeral Home. Wilson said he would miss Pepper’s presence in Alexandria and was keeping his family in his thoughts.