Kevin Donald Peppard, 77, died on April 23, 2026. Born in Oak Park on Feb. 14, 1949, the son of Marvila Aepinus Peppard and Donald Peppard, he excelled academically and graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF) then earned a B.A. from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
He retired after working in the automotive industry, holding senior positions at Rockwell, manager for Strategic Planning, and Bendix, director of Automotive Planning. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of history, with special interest in the wars of the 20th century. He also had a big heart. He moved back to Oak Park from Michigan to care for his aging mother as well as his younger brother, Brian, who had a developmental disability.
He also cared about his community and became involved in local politics in the 1990s, beginning with CARE (Citizens Active for Responsible Electorate) and later CALL (Coalition for Accountable Local Leadership).
In the mid-1990s, he supported an effort to defeat a District 200 referendum that he considered too large, then proposed, and helped pass, a smaller referendum.
With his knowledge of school finance and elections, he played a pivotal role in the OPRF pool saga. In late 2015, he provided valuable insights into the petition process for the grassroots effort that successfully forced the board to place its non-referendum bonds on the ballot to build an excessively large pool. The board responded by pulling the issuance, fearing defeat in the March 2016 election.
Shortly thereafter, he and other members of the grassroots effort formed OPRF Pragmatic Pool Solutions to address the pool issue. The November 2016 pool referendum campaign pitted them against OPRF, with its lobbying group, which outspent them by 3-1. With 35,676 votes cast, the referendum was defeated by 28 votes. It was the first bond referendum defeated in Oak Park in decades.
He remained involved with the pool issue until April 2023.
Kevin was predeceased by his parents and his brother Brian. He is survived by his brothers, Rory Peppard and Sean Peppard of Pennsylvania and their families, and many friends.
A celebration of life was held locally.