Thomas E. Kauper, Ann Arbor, age 89, died peacefully on February 9, 2025. He was born on September 25, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of the late Paul and Anna Kauper. After moving to Ann Arbor, he attended Ann Arbor public schools, graduating from Ann Arbor High School in 1953, a class that included Shirley Worrell who he first met in 1946, started dating in 1954 and married in 1958. He received his AB degree with high distinction from the University of Michigan in 1957, where he was a four-year member of the Michigan Marching Band. Tom received his JD degree from Michigan’s law school in 1960, serving as Editor in Chief of the Michigan Law Review in his last year. After a two-year clerkship with Associate Justice Potter Stewart of the Supreme Court of the United States and two years of private law practice in Chicago, he joined the Michigan law faculty in 1964. Tom retired in 2008 as the Henry M. Butzel Professor Emeritus of Law. Over the course of his career, he also taught at the Harvard Law School, the University of Toledo, the Peking School of Transnational Law (Shenzhen, China) and the Ave Maria School of Law. He lectured in a number of European countries and in Mexico, Japan and Taiwan, as well as at numerous programs, institutes and conferences across the United States. He co-authored a Property Law casebook and authored many articles on antitrust law and the competition policy of the European Community.

From 1969 through 1971 Tom served as First Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice. In 1972 he was nominated by President Richard Nixon to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division at the Justice Department, a position he held under both President Nixon and then President Ford until his return to Ann Arbor in 1976. Tom institutionalized the Division’s use of economic analysis in its decision making, led the Division through the travails of Watergate, filed the case that led to the breakup of AT&T and played a significant role in the deregulation of airlines. He later was a consultant on antitrust matters to a number of law firms, and also acted as a mediator and an arbitrator.

Tom was a lifelong member of Zion Lutheran Church, serving twice as President of the congregation. He was a trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, a longtime member of the Ann Arbor Rotary Club and a director of the University Musical Society. He was a member of the first board of directors of what is now Glacier Hills Retirement Center that began as a committee of Zion, and he continued on that board for many years. He was a member of Ann Arbor Golf and Outing Club and the Bonita Bay Club. Tom twice chaired the Law School’s Building Committee, first during the design and construction of the Allen and Alene Smith Law library and then in the initial planning for Christie Hall. In 1998 he chaired the Faculty Advisory Committee on Presidential Search. Tom was particularly proud to be the recipient of the John Sherman Award from the Department of Justice, the 50th Anniversary Achievement Award from the ABA Antitrust Section and the Law School’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. He was an avid reader with a particular interest in history and liked working with his hands, whether building models, refinishing furniture, hanging wallpaper or drilling water wells.

Tom shared his life experiences with Shirley, his lifelong partner, whom he described in a 2015 speech as “my lover, confidante, the mother of our children, house mother, home maintenance engineer, nurse and caregiver, travel companion and very best friend.” They loved to dance and shared a love of music from country to classical to “Old Time Rock and Roll” (by another Pioneer high school graduate). They traveled the world, enjoying each other’s company wherever they were. They took great pride in and treasured their time with all of their family, sharing moments of happiness and moments of pain, the pleasures of watching their children and grandchildren grow into responsible young women and men, the joy of teaching and watching them learn, introducing them to the excitement of travel and enjoying the simple fun of being together at home, in Leland or in the condo in Bonita Springs. Tom loved fatherhood, but thought being a grandfather even better! His family and friends will miss his intellectual curiosity, the joy he found in music and dancing, and his devotion to the Michigan Wolverines! He is survived by his wife, Shirley; two daughters, Karen and Krista; and three grandchildren, Sarah, Megan and Nathan. A memorial service will be held in the spring to celebrate his life. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his honor to the University of Michigan Law School or the Glacier Hills Foundation.

Tom was a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and Sustainer Member of the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor.