John Frederick Raper Jr. (June 13, 1913 – June 10, 1993) was a justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court from December 18, 1974, to June 14, 1983.
Born in Mapleton, Iowa, Raper received his Juris Doctor from the University of Wyoming in 1936 and undertook the practice of law in Sheridan, Wyoming.
He served from 1937 to 1960 in the Wyoming Army National Guard, where he became a colonel."Raper Appointed Cheyenne Judge", Casper Star-Tribune, Casper, Wyoming, 75th year, number 330, December 1, 1966, page 13. He was in the 115th Cavalry Regiment and during the Korean War, he was the commander of the 300th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, known as the "Cowboy Cannoneers"."Raper to Get Attorney Job", Casper Tribune-Herald, Casper, Wyoming, 61st year, number 303, February 1, 1953, page 1."Cowboy Cannoneers", Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 131, September 27, 2010, Senate, pages S7502-S7503, from the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office. While in Korea, the 300th Armored Field Artillery Battalion fought with distinction and earned the Distinguished Unit Citation."300th Field Artillery, WYARNG", The Army Historical Foundation website. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
He also maintained his law practice into the 1950s.Wyoming State Archives biography of John F. Raper, available at 2301 Central Ave, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001.
In 1954, Raper was appointed United States Attorney for Wyoming.Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States (1957), page 1355.
He was then Wyoming Attorney General, and a Wyoming district court judge until he was appointed by to the Wyoming Supreme Court, on December 18, 1974, by Governor Stanley K. Hathaway. Raper served until his retirement, on June 14, 1983.
After a decade in retirement, Raper died in Cheyenne, Wyoming on June 10, 1993. Having also been a colonel in the Wyoming National Guard, the National Guard armory in Cheyenne is named for him.
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