George M. Pepe *67
George died May 2, 2023, while in hospice near his home in San Diego. He was 83.
Born in 1939 in New York, he graduated from Holy Cross with a bachelor’s degree in classics in 1961 and earned a Ph.D. in classics from Princeton in 1967.
Beginning in 1965, George taught in the Department of Classics at Washington University for 53 years. He continued to teach after attaining emeritus status in 2015.
George’s teaching and scholarship focused on Roman history and political theory. He also taught beginning and intermediate Latin and Greek. He was a founder and longtime director of WashU’s “Text and Tradition” program, which introduced first-year students to the intellectual roots from which much of modern thought has developed. George was a generalist and polymath rather than a publishing scholar, rigorously keeping up with contemporary work in classics and starting conversations about the new scholarship he carried around daily under his arm.
His honors include the Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence (1992), WashU’s Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award (1993), and the David Hadas Teaching Award in Arts & Sciences (2013).
George is survived by his wife, Kathy Garcia; and his children, Anthony and Rachel.
Graduate alumni memorials are prepared by the APGA.
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