Jean Sewell Pope

Jean was a dedicated and innovative educator known for demystifying mathematics for generations of children while also touching the hearts of the toughest adolescents with her dramatic readings of Where the Red Ferns Grow. The genuine love and care she showed led to countless students, now middle-aged adults, approaching her in stores, restaurants and airports to remind Jean that she was his or her favorite teacher and ask for a picture with her. Even in retirement, Jean held classes at “Camp Nana and Papa” for her grandchildren, leading her own children to speculate that the grandchildren learned more in the summer than the rest of the year. Perhaps the only passion greater than her love for the classroom was that shown for her husband Richard. She was never happier than when she was traveling with Richard, from Europe to Hawaii and a number of points in between. She always said the best views were those with Richard in them, and she meant that until his passing in 2018.

Jean was a 1957 graduate of Mercer University with a bachelor’s degree in Education. Following her graduation, Jean taught elementary school in Atlanta, Georgia where she met Richard on a blind date. The following courtship turned into a 56-year marriage. In 1974, Jean earned her master’s degree in education from the University of South Carolina all while raising two children and teaching school in Richland County, first at Hopkins Elementary School and, later, at Mill Creek Elementary School. After 35 years of teaching, for pay she would say, Jean retired in 1997.

Jean, and Richard until his passing, were members of Trinity Presbyterian Church where, unsurprisingly, Jean taught Sunday school until time took its toll on her memory.

Surviving Jean are her daughter, Mary Elaine Pope of Charleston, South Carolina; her son, Alan Weldon Pope, and daughter-in-law, Mary Beth Pope of Charlotte, NC; and three grandchildren, Richard Alan Pope II, Mary Catherine Pope and Anna Elizabeth Pope.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Trinity Presbyterian Church at 1000 Greenlawn Drive, Columbia, SC 29209.

A private family burial service will be held on Sunday, December 13, 2020 in Greenlawn Memorial Park. A public Celebration of Life will be scheduled for a later date. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.

Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.