Maurice Kemp Jr. ’54

Maury died Feb. 8, 2023.

He prepared at St. Andrew’s School in Delaware, where he starred in three sports, earning MVP honors in basketball and the Hutton Prize for highest batting average on the baseball team in his senior year. At Princeton, he majored in history and joined Cannon Club and the Pre-Law Society.

Upon graduation, he was commissioned to the Navy, married Susan B. Sheldrick, earned his wings, served four years, and entered Stanford Law School in 1958. In 1960, he started 40 years of practice in Palo Alto, Calif. He was active in the community, as a Little League coach and an officer with the local and national Optimist Club.

After his first marriage ended in divorce, he married Susan Sylvester Kemp Oct. 15, 1971, in Palo Alto. In 2001, Maury and Susan moved full time into their vacation home in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., and he opened a law practice in nearby Middletown. They moved to Bozeman, Mont., in 2018.

Maury was a great tease, and he enjoyed reading, mainly fiction, and golf, reporting at the time of our 50th reunion that he was playing 100 rounds a year. He had run 17 marathons before his knees gave out. 

Maury is survived by his wife, Susan; daughter Audrey; son Jon; stepson Gray Thornton; stepdaughter Elizabeth; three grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren.