Greensboro - Mrs. Barnette Dickens Pope, 96, died on September 27, 2013. A long time resident of Greensboro, she and her late husband Col. William P. Pope moved to the area in the 1967 when he became president of Oak Ridge Academy in Oak Ridge.
One of four daughters of Manse and Bertha Dickens, Mrs. Pope was born on a farm in Brundidge, Alabama. She was teaching school in Dothan, Alabama when she met her husband, an officer in the U.S. Army. They married before Col. Pope left for three years to serve in World War II in New Guinea.
Throughout her husband’s long and distinguished military career, Barnette was known as a gracious and welcoming hostess known for her ability to make friends that she kept for life. She and her husband had four children. In spite of their moving every few years from one army post to another, including a three-year stay in Salzburg, Austria, at each assignment she made a beautiful home for her family that was filled with love and laughter.
Anyone who ever spent time with her knew that everything Barnette did, even the smallest trip to the grocery store, could be turned into a hilarious story. She had an irreverent sense of humor and an infectious laugh that her friends and family cherished.
When Col. Pope retired from Oak Ridge Academy in 1976, they moved to Greensboro. Mrs. Pope was a member of the Green Thumb Garden Club, the Greensboro Country Club, and the First Presbyterian Church. For many years, up until her early 90’s, she was a volunteer at Wesley Long Women’s Hospital. She was a award-winning bridge player, an avid golfer, and attended fitness classes daily for 30 years.
At the age of 94, Barnette moved to Abbotswood at Irving Park. Up until her final illness in early August, she exercised, played bridge, attended social gatherings, and enjoyed new and old friends. She learned Tai Chi and would demonstrate its postures to her children with very little prompting. In her last bedridden days, she listened to the music of Benny Goodman and imagined she was dancing to his orchestra. She even sang old songs, such as ‘Has Anyone Seen My Gal’ and ‘Stormy Weather’.
Barnette Pope is survived by her four children: Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce, both of western MA and authors of the Magic Tree House series; her son Bill, a photographer in Durham, NC; and her son Michael, executive director of Greenbelt Land Trust in Corvallis, OR. Her children say that she lived life fully for almost 97 years, embodying the quote that “people who live to be very old pay the world a great compliment by being reluctant to leave it.”
The family will visit with friends on Friday, October 4, 2013 from 5:00–7:00 pm at Hanes Lineberry Funeral Home, 515 North Elm Street, Greensboro.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in memory of Barnette Pope, can be made to: Greenbelt Land Trust, 101 SW Western Blvd Corvallis, OR 97333.
Online condolences may be made at www.hanes lineberryfuneralhomes.com
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