Charles H. Kueper

Charles H. Kueper, a former Green Beret from Cahokia, died of lung cancer on Friday (March 5, 1993), five weeks after he lost a nationally publicized court battle against tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds.

St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone said Kueper died at his home at 3:40 a.m. He was 51.

Mr. Kueper attributed his cancer to more than 30 years of smoking Winston cigarettes. He sued their manufacturer, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and the Washington-based Tobacco Institute, accusing them of conspiring to hide or mislead the public about the hazards of smoking.

His attorney, Bruce N. Cook of Belleville, said Mr. Kueper knew that if he had won the case, he would not have lived to collect. Cook said Kueper had sued to help his family and to seek justice against the cigarette industry.

On Jan. 29, after a 10-week trial and 14 hours of deliberations, a jury in circuit court in Belleville awarded Mr. Kueper nothing. But jurors praised him for his courage and honesty.

Although Cook charged the industry with conspiring to hook his client and millions like him on cigarettes, Mr. Kueper testified frankly that he had smoked voluntarily, knowing the risks.

He said he had tried repeatedly to quit but was unable to do so until about two years ago after his wife, Patricia, began suffering from emphysema. Her illness struck shortly before his cancer was diagnosed.

The night of the verdict, Cook said he had no regrets about his loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars on the nationally publicized case. "Just getting to know Charlie made it all worth it," he said.

Even opposing lawyers acknowledged that they admired him.

Recently, Mr. Kueper was under the care of the Hospice of Southern Illinois.

He was born and reared in the Springfield, Ill., area and joined the Army at 17, after graduating from high school.
He became a paratrooper and then a member of the elite Special Forces, or Green Berets. During the Vietnam War, he served two combat tours in Vietnam and one in Thailand.
After retiring from the Army as a master sergeant, Mr. Kueper worked for a pipeline company and as a truck driver. From 1984 until late last year, he was a driver for the Vertex Chemical Corp., based in Dupo.

Among those surviving, in addition to his wife, are daughters Tricia L. Kueper of Scott Air Force Base and Kelli Renee Dodd Kueper of Clifton Park, N.Y.; sons John Kueper of Savannah, Ga., Charles H. Kueper Jr. of Fenton, and Jeffrey M. Kueper of Cahokia; his mother, Elva Kueper of Springfield, Ill., and father, John Kueper of Huachuca City, Ariz.; sisters Rena Kueper of Midland, Texas, and Louise Baker of Springfield, Ill.; a brother, Paul Kueper of Huachuca City, Ariz.; four grandchildren, and a close friend, Verlin Haslett of Lebanon.

Funeral services are private, under the direction of the Dashner Funeral Home in Dupo. Burial will be in the David Brunk Family Cemetery in Springfield.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice of Southern Illinois or to the Brunk Cemetery.