James M. Pepper was born 30 March 1920 in Morse, Saskatchewan. His family moved to Victoria, B.C. in 1930 where he attended high school. He received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of British Columbia in 1939 and 1941 and a Ph.D. from McGill University in 1943. Dr. Pepper joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan in 1947 as an Associate Professor. He was promoted to Professor in 1955 serving as Department Head from 1970 until 1976. He retired in 1986. Dr. Pepper’s research interests centred on wood chemistry. His specific research involved the isolation, structure and potential chemical utilization of the lignin component and liquefaction of wood as an alternative energy source.