Kemper A. Maupin Kemper A. Maupin, 90, of Free Union, died on Thursday, August 26, 2010, at his home.
He was born in Albemarle County, on January 30, 1920, one of 10 children born to the late Cecil and Ora Loving Maupin. He was also preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Cordella "Della" McAllister Maupin.
Kemper was the owner and operator of Maupin Brothers Store in Free Union for more than 50 years and he was a member of Free Union Church of the Brethren.
Kemper was a veteran of The United States Army and in 1944 he was awarded the Purple Heart at the Battle of Anzio in Italy and was a member of the VFW. He was a member of the Free Union Lodge Hall and was an avid fisherman and bird hunter. He loved going for his Sunday motorcycle rides and when he and Della were first married he piloted her around the Charlottesville-Albemarle skyline.
He is survived by his three children, Mike Maupin and his wife, Margaret, Janet Moscicki and her husband, Jeff, Tim Maupin and his wife, Dee, all of Free Union; his six grandchildren, Raleigh Maupin, Jody Maupin, Jordan Paige Maupin, J.C. Moscicki, Brennan Maupin and Jarrad Moscicki; a brother, Milton "Pete" Maupin and his wife, Terry, of Florida.
A funeral service will be conducted 2 p.m. Sunday August 29, 2010, at the Free Union Church of the Brethren with the Reverend Pat Mellott officiating. Interment will follow at Holly Memorial Gardens.
The family will receive friends from 4 until 6 p.m. Saturday, August 28, 2010, at the Teague Funeral Home.
The family would like to thank Dr. Moors and Billy and Dot McAllister for their attention and care of Kemper.
The family suggests that memorials be made to the Free Union Church of the Brethren Building Fund, Post Office Box 213, Free Union, VA 22940.
Shopkeeper, a Free Union institution for decades, dies at 90
By TED STRONG
Published: August 27, 2010
Kemper Maupin started working at the Maupin Brothers Store in Free Union so long ago that no one can quite remember when it was. The well-known local storekeeper died Thursday, in his sleep and at home. He was 90.“He was a good man,” said neighbor and customer David Wood of Free Union. “He was always fair. He’s going to be missed in the community.”
A veteran of the Battle of Anzio, which was part of the Allies’ invasion of Italy during World War II, he returned to the states and went to work for a store in Advance Mills, said his daughter, Janet Moscicki of Free Union.
Later, he and two of his brothers — he had nine siblings — took over the store the previous generation of Maupins was running in Free Union. The brothers with whom he was running the store, Galen and Garland, died in the 1960s, but he kept working at the store, said Marguerite Shepherd of Albemarle County, his sister-in-law.
He was working 30 to 40 hours each week when he was 88 and 89, Timmy Maupin, his son, said.
He had to cut back his hours drastically within the last year but was still working the week he died, Moscicki said.
“That’s what kept him going,” Timmy Maupin said.
As Maupin decreased his time at the store, his son, Mike, took over much of the responsibility, and now will have to go on without his father.
Kemper Maupin’s family described him as a quiet man who loved meeting and talking with people. They recalled his sense of humor, too.
“I loved to hear him laugh,” said Jeanne Maupin of Albemarle County, his sister-in-law.
At Halloween, he would greet trick-or-treaters at the store.
“He would offer them an onion first,” Moscicki recalled.
The children looked crestfallen until he then let them pick out a candy bar instead, she remembered.
He remained active throughout his later years. Besides continuing to spend time at the store, he kept mowing his yard and driving himself, though his hunting was supplanted by wildlife watching, said his daughter-in-law, Margaret Maupin.
“He and his wife were so sweet to everybody,” customer Alice Howard of Charlottesville said.
She added, “We would talk about the old people up through here. That’s all we talked about, and he never turned his back on anyone.”
When he bought into the store, it was housed in a building across the street from its present location. In 1961, the brothers built a new building for the store, across the street at its present location, said Timmy Maupin.
Now, the tin sign reading “Maupin Bros.” is streaked with rust, though the inside of the store remains orderly.
Car wax, blaze orange hats, cans of Pepsi and shovels are all offered for sale.
A blackboard at the back advises customers that, among other things, hog pellets run $12.50 and 60 pounds of concrete mix is $4.25.
In the early days, the selection was even more extensive, Margaret Maupin said.
“It was one of those you-go-there-and-get-everything-you-need kind of stores,” she said.
It also served as a social center for the community.
Sometimes customers would leave parcels for one another at the store, or ask the family to relay messages to other customers, if they happened in, she said.
Kemper Maupin had been married to his wife, Della, for 58 years when she died a few years back.
Howard, who grew up near the store, recalled a sea of flowers at the store’s doorway at the time. The day after Kemper died, bouquets were again arranged around the door. Behind the glass, a sign notified folks of his death.
“Thank you all for being his family of friends,” the sign read.
