He enrolled in the University of Alabama in 1918, where he hauled ashes at the university power plant to earn his keep. He went on to earn a law degree from Harvard University, and then taught law at the University of Arkansas. Upon leaving Arkansas, He opened a law practice in Perry, FL, won a seat in the Florida Legislature, and took the first step toward building a reputation as a maverick. Both Florida (U.S.) senators died in 1936, and Pepper won one of the vacant seats without opposition. He won a full term in 1938 and was re-elected in 1944. He opposed Harry Truman's nomination for president in 1948, and was the victim of one of the dirtiest campaigns in history, losing his bid for re-election in 1950. Returning to Florida, He moved to the Miami area and resumed the practice of law. Then, in 1962, a new congressional seat was created, he won it, and went on to serve longer than any other person in the U.S. Congress. During his 60 years in politics, he compiled a record that seldom strayed from his liberal philosophy, particularly on social issues. He was the nation's undisputed champion of elderly Americans, when he died a month after entering Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for treatment of cancer. Until the end, he provided a living example that age itself is no handicap. He wore trifocals and two hearing aids, and a pacemaker was implanted in his chest seven years ago to regulate his heartbeat. Still he maintained a full schedule and a heavy workload. President George Bush in a statement said, "Claude Pepper gave definition and meaning to the concept of public service. He fought for the poor and the elderly in his own determined way."

Buried next to grandfather, Arthur Clark Pepper

Mother mar (3) Doug Hjornevik and was living in Austin, TX in 1993

Worked for Deposit Guaranty Ntl. Bank, Jackson after graduating from High School in Jackson, MS. Moved to San Antonio, TX, then to Austin, TX.