Fred Kemp, NAHB Senior Life Director From St. Louis, Dies
Fred M. Kemp, an NAHB Senior Life Director and prominent St. Louis home builder, died at his home in Creve Coeur, MO, on July 1 of complications from lung cancer. He was 78.
Founded in the 1950s, his company, Kemp Homes, built some 10,000 homes in the St. Louis area. He said that he made $800 on the sale of his first home, which took eight months to build, and had to split the profits with a partner. Kemp took pride in the quality of his homes and his affiliation with some of the best subcontractors and craftsmen in St. Louis, and he was interested in land planning and development practices that created a sense of community and conserved the environment.
Kemp was born in St. Louis and graduated as an architect from Washington University.
Kemp was president of the Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis in 1966, and he received the association’s Excellence of Achievement award in 1997.
He was a longtime supporter of the Washington University School of Architecture and was appointed to the school’s National Council. His love of Mercedes-Benz cars led to the establishment of the 24,000-square-foot Kemp Auto Museum, which is scheduled to open this fall in Chesterfield, MO, a suburb of St. Louis.