John Kemper and Jacqueline (Jackie) Murphy met in physics class in their senior year (1941) at Anaheim Union High School. Their first date was to the Valentine’s Day Dance at AUHS that year. They became high school sweethearts and were married during WWII in November 1944. They had 7 children, 20 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren and one great, great grandchild, and were married for 63 years. They lived in Anaheim until 1969, when they moved to Torrance. They remained there until their deaths – Jackie in 2007, and John in 2012.
John was a native Californian, born in Anaheim in 1924. As a young man, he worked at the orange packing house, then known as the Anaheim Orange & Lemon Association. He served in the Army in Radio Intelligence during World War II and subsequently worked for the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Aviation Agency, and after retirement from his government positions, as a consultant and inventor. He was a life-long HAM radio operator. Jackie was born in South Dakota in 1923. She raised seven children and later became a paralegal. They were both active in their community and church. They will remain “high school sweethearts” forever.
