Kemper, a Kansas City native, retired in 1991 as chairman of Commerce Bancshares Inc., having followed his father into the job and handing it over to his son David W. Kemper in turn.
He was one of the more private members of the prominent Kansas City and St. Louis banking family but still held a prominent role in local business and civic affairs.
“We have already heard wonderful stories and sentiments from many friends and associates whose lives and careers he personally touched,” his son Jonathan Kemper said in a statement Friday. “These remembrances are all greatly appreciated, and will continue to inspire us all in our work and leadership in our business, families and communities.”
James Kemper was the first leader of Kansas City’s Downtown Council, was a board member at Kansas City Public Schools, a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and chairman of the Smithsonian National Board.
Foremost, Kemper was a banker who stood out in a family of bankers.
His family noted that, in 1967, Fortune magazine had said Kemper was “the most professional banker that the Kempers have produced — a man who at bank meetings tends to know as much about details as his specialists.”
Kemper also could be considered difficult to deal with and often challenged those around him.
“He can be abrasive in his inquiring to the point of being insulting,” former Kansas City Mayor Ike Davis told The Star in 1975. “He turns an idea all the way around. He just dives in. He doesn’t fit the standard pattern of thinking.”
Others saw his probing as a test, ensuring that a banker had done his or her homework or that a cause was worth supporting.
One day, Kemper asked for a meeting with Jane Knapp, who was then the chief of emergency medical services at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Kemper offered his support, but it wouldn’t come easily.
“There’s a beginning exchange of pleasantries, then he starts in on you,” Knapp recalled Friday. “He was a very challenging man. He’s testing to see if you just want a handout or if you’ve got a little bit of backbone … and defend what you really want to do.”
The two clicked, and Knapp said Kemper had been one of the most influential people in her life, personally and professionally, outside of the hospital.
Often called Jim or “Jamie,” Kemper was a voracious reader with a wide-ranging appetite.
Kevin Barth, who is president of Commerce Bank in Kansas City, recalled seeing Kemper’s broad knowledge in action during a tea at the retired banker’s house about five years ago. Their guests were two men well educated in Islam.
“Coincidentally, Mr. Kemper had just read three books on the topic,” Barth said. “And Mr. Kemper’s going toe-to-toe with this Harvard-educated Muslim scholar on the history of their religion.”
Seemingly any topic sparked his interest.
Kirby Upjohn, his longtime personal assistant and friend, said Kemper would hand her lists of books to order on Amazon. One list this spring included material on the musician Prince, who died in April.
“I’ve often thought whoever is managing the algorithms at Amazon must be baffled by this account,” Upjohn said. “The range of interests has got to be beyond the power of their system to make recommendations.”
Kemper was active in philanthropy, often acting without public attention. Barth said he knows Kemper sometimes gave money under a pseudonym and more than once politely turned down awards that one group or another wanted to bestow on him.∼Kansas City Star, 18 Dec 2016:
Oct 10, 1921-Dec 15, 2016. James Kemper Jr. was born in Kansas City, MO, son of James M. Kemper Sr. and Gladys Woods Rubey. He attended Pembroke Country Day School, graduating in 1939 to attend Yale College in what would be the graduating class of 1943. After Pearl Harbor, he left his studies to enlist in the first cavalry division as a first lieutenant. He served with distinction in the South Pacific, receiving a Purple Heart and leaving the army in 1945 as a captain. His older brother, David Woods Kemper, was killed in action in northern Italy in April 1945.
After the war, he returned to Yale to finish his undergraduate degree and then returned to Kansas City in 1946 to join the Commerce Trust Company as a commercial banking officer. He married Mildred Lane in 1948, with whom he had four children. After a thirty-nine year marriage, she died in 1986. He later married Suzanne Shutz, now divorced.
Born into a family of bankers, he was the fourth generation of his family to lead the Commerce Bank, where he was a formidable presence, especially in its senior Loan Committee meetings. In 1967, Fortune Magazine called him "the most professional banker that the Kempers have produced - a man who at bank meetings tends to know as much about details as his specialists." Mr. Kemper was a strategic and innovative businessman taking Commerce Bank from a $500 million single-location downtown Kansas City bank to a major $6.8 billion regional bank holding company at his retirement. He also championed downtown Kansas City building three major office buildings including the landmark Commerce Tower. He was elected president of Commerce Bank in 1955, serving until his retirement as chairman in 1991. After leaving the bank, he continued as chair of Tower Properties, a Kansas City-based property company, and chaired the contributions committee of the William T. Kemper Foundation.
In addition to his very successful career in banking, he was a leader in numerous business, civic and philanthropic agencies primarily in the Midwest. His corporate board service included Chem Agro, Archer Daniels Midland, Paul Mueller Company, Kansas City Life Insurance, Owens Corning Fiberglas and the Missouri Pacific Railroad. He was the founder of the Downtown Council of Kansas City. He served as board member and chair of the Kansas City Public School District, board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and chairman of the Smithsonian Institution's National Board. He was generous to his family and to a broad number of charitable and cultural agencies throughout his life; he generally preferred to remain anonymous and rarely allowed his personal philanthropy to receive attention. He recently established the David Woods Kemper Veterans Foundation in memory of his brother to support veterans' issues through research and advocacy. A passionate horseman, for years Mr. Kemper had a farm in southern Jackson County which was a center of family activity. An avid and lifelong reader of history, he also had a passion for contemporary art, particularly Chinese, Japanese, and German, and collected ancient Chinese sculpture.
He has three children, David, Jonathan, and Julie Foyer. Laura Kemper Fields predeceased him in 2014. He has 14 grandchildren: John Kemper, Ellie Kemper Kamen, Carrie Kemper Doogan, William Kemper, Julia Fields Jackson, James Fields, Charlotte Kemper, Nicolas Kemper, David Kemper, Jean Charles Foyer, Emilie Foyer, Christophe Foyer. Aymeric Foyer and Laurent Foyer and 7 great grandchildren.
There will be a memorial service in mid-January. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Operation Breakthrough, 3039 Troost, Kansas City, MO 94109. Condolences may be made to www.mcgilleymidtownchapel.com.
He was one of the more private members of the prominent Kansas City and St. Louis banking family but still held a prominent role in local business and civic affairs.
“We have already heard wonderful stories and sentiments from many friends and associates whose lives and careers he personally touched,” his son Jonathan Kemper said in a statement Friday. “These remembrances are all greatly appreciated, and will continue to inspire us all in our work and leadership in our business, families and communities.”
James Kemper was the first leader of Kansas City’s Downtown Council, was a board member at Kansas City Public Schools, a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and chairman of the Smithsonian National Board.
Foremost, Kemper was a banker who stood out in a family of bankers.
His family noted that, in 1967, Fortune magazine had said Kemper was “the most professional banker that the Kempers have produced — a man who at bank meetings tends to know as much about details as his specialists.”
Kemper also could be considered difficult to deal with and often challenged those around him.
“He can be abrasive in his inquiring to the point of being insulting,” former Kansas City Mayor Ike Davis told The Star in 1975. “He turns an idea all the way around. He just dives in. He doesn’t fit the standard pattern of thinking.”
Others saw his probing as a test, ensuring that a banker had done his or her homework or that a cause was worth supporting.
One day, Kemper asked for a meeting with Jane Knapp, who was then the chief of emergency medical services at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Kemper offered his support, but it wouldn’t come easily.
“There’s a beginning exchange of pleasantries, then he starts in on you,” Knapp recalled Friday. “He was a very challenging man. He’s testing to see if you just want a handout or if you’ve got a little bit of backbone … and defend what you really want to do.”
The two clicked, and Knapp said Kemper had been one of the most influential people in her life, personally and professionally, outside of the hospital.
Often called Jim or “Jamie,” Kemper was a voracious reader with a wide-ranging appetite.
Kevin Barth, who is president of Commerce Bank in Kansas City, recalled seeing Kemper’s broad knowledge in action during a tea at the retired banker’s house about five years ago. Their guests were two men well educated in Islam.
“Coincidentally, Mr. Kemper had just read three books on the topic,” Barth said. “And Mr. Kemper’s going toe-to-toe with this Harvard-educated Muslim scholar on the history of their religion.”
Seemingly any topic sparked his interest.
Kirby Upjohn, his longtime personal assistant and friend, said Kemper would hand her lists of books to order on Amazon. One list this spring included material on the musician Prince, who died in April.
“I’ve often thought whoever is managing the algorithms at Amazon must be baffled by this account,” Upjohn said. “The range of interests has got to be beyond the power of their system to make recommendations.”
Kemper was active in philanthropy, often acting without public attention. Barth said he knows Kemper sometimes gave money under a pseudonym and more than once politely turned down awards that one group or another wanted to bestow on him.∼Kansas City Star, 18 Dec 2016:
Oct 10, 1921-Dec 15, 2016. James Kemper Jr. was born in Kansas City, MO, son of James M. Kemper Sr. and Gladys Woods Rubey. He attended Pembroke Country Day School, graduating in 1939 to attend Yale College in what would be the graduating class of 1943. After Pearl Harbor, he left his studies to enlist in the first cavalry division as a first lieutenant. He served with distinction in the South Pacific, receiving a Purple Heart and leaving the army in 1945 as a captain. His older brother, David Woods Kemper, was killed in action in northern Italy in April 1945.
After the war, he returned to Yale to finish his undergraduate degree and then returned to Kansas City in 1946 to join the Commerce Trust Company as a commercial banking officer. He married Mildred Lane in 1948, with whom he had four children. After a thirty-nine year marriage, she died in 1986. He later married Suzanne Shutz, now divorced.
Born into a family of bankers, he was the fourth generation of his family to lead the Commerce Bank, where he was a formidable presence, especially in its senior Loan Committee meetings. In 1967, Fortune Magazine called him "the most professional banker that the Kempers have produced - a man who at bank meetings tends to know as much about details as his specialists." Mr. Kemper was a strategic and innovative businessman taking Commerce Bank from a $500 million single-location downtown Kansas City bank to a major $6.8 billion regional bank holding company at his retirement. He also championed downtown Kansas City building three major office buildings including the landmark Commerce Tower. He was elected president of Commerce Bank in 1955, serving until his retirement as chairman in 1991. After leaving the bank, he continued as chair of Tower Properties, a Kansas City-based property company, and chaired the contributions committee of the William T. Kemper Foundation.
In addition to his very successful career in banking, he was a leader in numerous business, civic and philanthropic agencies primarily in the Midwest. His corporate board service included Chem Agro, Archer Daniels Midland, Paul Mueller Company, Kansas City Life Insurance, Owens Corning Fiberglas and the Missouri Pacific Railroad. He was the founder of the Downtown Council of Kansas City. He served as board member and chair of the Kansas City Public School District, board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and chairman of the Smithsonian Institution's National Board. He was generous to his family and to a broad number of charitable and cultural agencies throughout his life; he generally preferred to remain anonymous and rarely allowed his personal philanthropy to receive attention. He recently established the David Woods Kemper Veterans Foundation in memory of his brother to support veterans' issues through research and advocacy. A passionate horseman, for years Mr. Kemper had a farm in southern Jackson County which was a center of family activity. An avid and lifelong reader of history, he also had a passion for contemporary art, particularly Chinese, Japanese, and German, and collected ancient Chinese sculpture.
He has three children, David, Jonathan, and Julie Foyer. Laura Kemper Fields predeceased him in 2014. He has 14 grandchildren: John Kemper, Ellie Kemper Kamen, Carrie Kemper Doogan, William Kemper, Julia Fields Jackson, James Fields, Charlotte Kemper, Nicolas Kemper, David Kemper, Jean Charles Foyer, Emilie Foyer, Christophe Foyer. Aymeric Foyer and Laurent Foyer and 7 great grandchildren.
There will be a memorial service in mid-January. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Operation Breakthrough, 3039 Troost, Kansas City, MO 94109. Condolences may be made to www.mcgilleymidtownchapel.com.
Kemper, a Kansas City native, retired in 1991 as chairman of Commerce Bancshares Inc., having followed his father into the job and handing it over to his son David W. Kemper in turn.
He was one of the more private members of the prominent Kansas City and St. Louis banking family but still held a prominent role in local business and civic affairs.
“We have already heard wonderful stories and sentiments from many friends and associates whose lives and careers he personally touched,” his son Jonathan Kemper said in a statement Friday. “These remembrances are all greatly appreciated, and will continue to inspire us all in our work and leadership in our business, families and communities.”
James Kemper was the first leader of Kansas City’s Downtown Council, was a board member at Kansas City Public Schools, a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and chairman of the Smithsonian National Board.
Foremost, Kemper was a banker who stood out in a family of bankers.
His family noted that, in 1967, Fortune magazine had said Kemper was “the most professional banker that the Kempers have produced — a man who at bank meetings tends to know as much about details as his specialists.”
Kemper also could be considered difficult to deal with and often challenged those around him.
“He can be abrasive in his inquiring to the point of being insulting,” former Kansas City Mayor Ike Davis told The Star in 1975. “He turns an idea all the way around. He just dives in. He doesn’t fit the standard pattern of thinking.”
Others saw his probing as a test, ensuring that a banker had done his or her homework or that a cause was worth supporting.
One day, Kemper asked for a meeting with Jane Knapp, who was then the chief of emergency medical services at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Kemper offered his support, but it wouldn’t come easily.
“There’s a beginning exchange of pleasantries, then he starts in on you,” Knapp recalled Friday. “He was a very challenging man. He’s testing to see if you just want a handout or if you’ve got a little bit of backbone … and defend what you really want to do.”
The two clicked, and Knapp said Kemper had been one of the most influential people in her life, personally and professionally, outside of the hospital.
Often called Jim or “Jamie,” Kemper was a voracious reader with a wide-ranging appetite.
Kevin Barth, who is president of Commerce Bank in Kansas City, recalled seeing Kemper’s broad knowledge in action during a tea at the retired banker’s house about five years ago. Their guests were two men well educated in Islam.
“Coincidentally, Mr. Kemper had just read three books on the topic,” Barth said. “And Mr. Kemper’s going toe-to-toe with this Harvard-educated Muslim scholar on the history of their religion.”
Seemingly any topic sparked his interest.
Kirby Upjohn, his longtime personal assistant and friend, said Kemper would hand her lists of books to order on Amazon. One list this spring included material on the musician Prince, who died in April.
“I’ve often thought whoever is managing the algorithms at Amazon must be baffled by this account,” Upjohn said. “The range of interests has got to be beyond the power of their system to make recommendations.”
Kemper was active in philanthropy, often acting without public attention. Barth said he knows Kemper sometimes gave money under a pseudonym and more than once politely turned down awards that one group or another wanted to bestow on him.∼Kansas City Star, 18 Dec 2016:
Oct 10, 1921-Dec 15, 2016. James Kemper Jr. was born in Kansas City, MO, son of James M. Kemper Sr. and Gladys Woods Rubey. He attended Pembroke Country Day School, graduating in 1939 to attend Yale College in what would be the graduating class of 1943. After Pearl Harbor, he left his studies to enlist in the first cavalry division as a first lieutenant. He served with distinction in the South Pacific, receiving a Purple Heart and leaving the army in 1945 as a captain. His older brother, David Woods Kemper, was killed in action in northern Italy in April 1945.
After the war, he returned to Yale to finish his undergraduate degree and then returned to Kansas City in 1946 to join the Commerce Trust Company as a commercial banking officer. He married Mildred Lane in 1948, with whom he had four children. After a thirty-nine year marriage, she died in 1986. He later married Suzanne Shutz, now divorced.
Born into a family of bankers, he was the fourth generation of his family to lead the Commerce Bank, where he was a formidable presence, especially in its senior Loan Committee meetings. In 1967, Fortune Magazine called him "the most professional banker that the Kempers have produced - a man who at bank meetings tends to know as much about details as his specialists." Mr. Kemper was a strategic and innovative businessman taking Commerce Bank from a $500 million single-location downtown Kansas City bank to a major $6.8 billion regional bank holding company at his retirement. He also championed downtown Kansas City building three major office buildings including the landmark Commerce Tower. He was elected president of Commerce Bank in 1955, serving until his retirement as chairman in 1991. After leaving the bank, he continued as chair of Tower Properties, a Kansas City-based property company, and chaired the contributions committee of the William T. Kemper Foundation.
In addition to his very successful career in banking, he was a leader in numerous business, civic and philanthropic agencies primarily in the Midwest. His corporate board service included Chem Agro, Archer Daniels Midland, Paul Mueller Company, Kansas City Life Insurance, Owens Corning Fiberglas and the Missouri Pacific Railroad. He was the founder of the Downtown Council of Kansas City. He served as board member and chair of the Kansas City Public School District, board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and chairman of the Smithsonian Institution's National Board. He was generous to his family and to a broad number of charitable and cultural agencies throughout his life; he generally preferred to remain anonymous and rarely allowed his personal philanthropy to receive attention. He recently established the David Woods Kemper Veterans Foundation in memory of his brother to support veterans' issues through research and advocacy. A passionate horseman, for years Mr. Kemper had a farm in southern Jackson County which was a center of family activity. An avid and lifelong reader of history, he also had a passion for contemporary art, particularly Chinese, Japanese, and German, and collected ancient Chinese sculpture.
He has three children, David, Jonathan, and Julie Foyer. Laura Kemper Fields predeceased him in 2014. He has 14 grandchildren: John Kemper, Ellie Kemper Kamen, Carrie Kemper Doogan, William Kemper, Julia Fields Jackson, James Fields, Charlotte Kemper, Nicolas Kemper, David Kemper, Jean Charles Foyer, Emilie Foyer, Christophe Foyer. Aymeric Foyer and Laurent Foyer and 7 great grandchildren.
There will be a memorial service in mid-January. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Operation Breakthrough, 3039 Troost, Kansas City, MO 94109. Condolences may be made to www.mcgilleymidtownchapel.com.
He was one of the more private members of the prominent Kansas City and St. Louis banking family but still held a prominent role in local business and civic affairs.
“We have already heard wonderful stories and sentiments from many friends and associates whose lives and careers he personally touched,” his son Jonathan Kemper said in a statement Friday. “These remembrances are all greatly appreciated, and will continue to inspire us all in our work and leadership in our business, families and communities.”
James Kemper was the first leader of Kansas City’s Downtown Council, was a board member at Kansas City Public Schools, a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and chairman of the Smithsonian National Board.
Foremost, Kemper was a banker who stood out in a family of bankers.
His family noted that, in 1967, Fortune magazine had said Kemper was “the most professional banker that the Kempers have produced — a man who at bank meetings tends to know as much about details as his specialists.”
Kemper also could be considered difficult to deal with and often challenged those around him.
“He can be abrasive in his inquiring to the point of being insulting,” former Kansas City Mayor Ike Davis told The Star in 1975. “He turns an idea all the way around. He just dives in. He doesn’t fit the standard pattern of thinking.”
Others saw his probing as a test, ensuring that a banker had done his or her homework or that a cause was worth supporting.
One day, Kemper asked for a meeting with Jane Knapp, who was then the chief of emergency medical services at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Kemper offered his support, but it wouldn’t come easily.
“There’s a beginning exchange of pleasantries, then he starts in on you,” Knapp recalled Friday. “He was a very challenging man. He’s testing to see if you just want a handout or if you’ve got a little bit of backbone … and defend what you really want to do.”
The two clicked, and Knapp said Kemper had been one of the most influential people in her life, personally and professionally, outside of the hospital.
Often called Jim or “Jamie,” Kemper was a voracious reader with a wide-ranging appetite.
Kevin Barth, who is president of Commerce Bank in Kansas City, recalled seeing Kemper’s broad knowledge in action during a tea at the retired banker’s house about five years ago. Their guests were two men well educated in Islam.
“Coincidentally, Mr. Kemper had just read three books on the topic,” Barth said. “And Mr. Kemper’s going toe-to-toe with this Harvard-educated Muslim scholar on the history of their religion.”
Seemingly any topic sparked his interest.
Kirby Upjohn, his longtime personal assistant and friend, said Kemper would hand her lists of books to order on Amazon. One list this spring included material on the musician Prince, who died in April.
“I’ve often thought whoever is managing the algorithms at Amazon must be baffled by this account,” Upjohn said. “The range of interests has got to be beyond the power of their system to make recommendations.”
Kemper was active in philanthropy, often acting without public attention. Barth said he knows Kemper sometimes gave money under a pseudonym and more than once politely turned down awards that one group or another wanted to bestow on him.∼Kansas City Star, 18 Dec 2016:
Oct 10, 1921-Dec 15, 2016. James Kemper Jr. was born in Kansas City, MO, son of James M. Kemper Sr. and Gladys Woods Rubey. He attended Pembroke Country Day School, graduating in 1939 to attend Yale College in what would be the graduating class of 1943. After Pearl Harbor, he left his studies to enlist in the first cavalry division as a first lieutenant. He served with distinction in the South Pacific, receiving a Purple Heart and leaving the army in 1945 as a captain. His older brother, David Woods Kemper, was killed in action in northern Italy in April 1945.
After the war, he returned to Yale to finish his undergraduate degree and then returned to Kansas City in 1946 to join the Commerce Trust Company as a commercial banking officer. He married Mildred Lane in 1948, with whom he had four children. After a thirty-nine year marriage, she died in 1986. He later married Suzanne Shutz, now divorced.
Born into a family of bankers, he was the fourth generation of his family to lead the Commerce Bank, where he was a formidable presence, especially in its senior Loan Committee meetings. In 1967, Fortune Magazine called him "the most professional banker that the Kempers have produced - a man who at bank meetings tends to know as much about details as his specialists." Mr. Kemper was a strategic and innovative businessman taking Commerce Bank from a $500 million single-location downtown Kansas City bank to a major $6.8 billion regional bank holding company at his retirement. He also championed downtown Kansas City building three major office buildings including the landmark Commerce Tower. He was elected president of Commerce Bank in 1955, serving until his retirement as chairman in 1991. After leaving the bank, he continued as chair of Tower Properties, a Kansas City-based property company, and chaired the contributions committee of the William T. Kemper Foundation.
In addition to his very successful career in banking, he was a leader in numerous business, civic and philanthropic agencies primarily in the Midwest. His corporate board service included Chem Agro, Archer Daniels Midland, Paul Mueller Company, Kansas City Life Insurance, Owens Corning Fiberglas and the Missouri Pacific Railroad. He was the founder of the Downtown Council of Kansas City. He served as board member and chair of the Kansas City Public School District, board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and chairman of the Smithsonian Institution's National Board. He was generous to his family and to a broad number of charitable and cultural agencies throughout his life; he generally preferred to remain anonymous and rarely allowed his personal philanthropy to receive attention. He recently established the David Woods Kemper Veterans Foundation in memory of his brother to support veterans' issues through research and advocacy. A passionate horseman, for years Mr. Kemper had a farm in southern Jackson County which was a center of family activity. An avid and lifelong reader of history, he also had a passion for contemporary art, particularly Chinese, Japanese, and German, and collected ancient Chinese sculpture.
He has three children, David, Jonathan, and Julie Foyer. Laura Kemper Fields predeceased him in 2014. He has 14 grandchildren: John Kemper, Ellie Kemper Kamen, Carrie Kemper Doogan, William Kemper, Julia Fields Jackson, James Fields, Charlotte Kemper, Nicolas Kemper, David Kemper, Jean Charles Foyer, Emilie Foyer, Christophe Foyer. Aymeric Foyer and Laurent Foyer and 7 great grandchildren.
There will be a memorial service in mid-January. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Operation Breakthrough, 3039 Troost, Kansas City, MO 94109. Condolences may be made to www.mcgilleymidtownchapel.com.
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