Centenarian, WW II veteran and Denver native Capt. Eugene X. Tepper died on October 11, 2022 in Pojoaque, NM. He was 101. No service has been planned.
Born on September 25, 1921 in Denver to Ida and Morris Tepper, Capt. Tepper enrolled in the US Merchant Marine Academy as WW II was underway. He graduated from the academy in 1943 and captained ships throughout the war, carrying soldiers, vehicles and equipment.
In 1948, after President Harry S Truman officially recognized Israel as a nation state, Capt. Tepper and his crew were in New York City at the time of the announcement. As soon as the recognition was made official, he received orders to sail into the New York harbor with the Israeli flag on full display. It was the first US ship to fly the new nation’s flag.
After the war, Capt. Tepper returned to Denver to run the family plumbing and heating business with his brother and father.
He also became a real estate developer in Denver and launched the Crystal Lake Lodge in Pine, Colo.
In the 1990s Capt. Tepper and his wife Sheri moved to Pojoaque, NM, to run the Rancho Jacona, a historic property in New Mexico.
Mrs. Tepper, an acclaimed author and former executive director of Planned Parenthood in Denver, died in October, 2016. She and Capt. Tepper were married 51 years.
“All those who knew Gene were attracted to his love of life, his humor and his kindness,” his family said.
“When asked about his recipe for a happy life, he would say, ‘Take from no man his smile.’ He brought smiles to all of us.”
Survivors are children Regan Eberhart and Mark Eberhart; grandchildren Caetlin and Tucker; and great-grandchildren Violet, Ezra and Isaac.
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