Richard Jackson Pope

Died June 11, 2016
Local businessman Richard Jackson Pope, 79, 320 Point Olympus Drive, Gainesville, died Saturday, June 11, 2016, following a brief illness.

Born in Atlanta to the late Ralph Jackson Pope and Ocie Rich Pope, his family relocated to Gainesville in 1940. A 1955 graduate of Gainesville High School, Oxford at Emory in 1957 and a business administration graduate from Emory University in 1959, his studies in business prepared him well for a successful business and entrepreneurial career.

Founder and CEO of First Financial Services, he was also founder and CEO of E'arrs' Inc., a leading international supplier of jewelry accessory products founded in 1976. Other business interests included a Christmas tree farm, Oriental rug store, furniture and appliance store and co-owner of a restaurant and bar in Wilmington Island, Ga.

In honor of his mother, the late Ocie Rich Pope, founder of the Hall School of Nursing (now the Brenau School of Nursing) and charter member of the Hall County Hospital Auxiliary, Richard served as the first male member and treasurer of the Auxiliary Board for 13 years. He also served as a board member of The Medical Center Foundation where he and his wife, Lona, served as co-chairs of the Laurel Society.

A world traveler, he visited six continents; enjoyed a variety of adventures from bungee-jumping to paragliding and snow skiing. He was a hobby farmer, architect and developer at heart. A voracious reader, he could often be seen with a book in his hand.

Richard is survived by his wife and partner of 22-plus years, Lona Paulos Pope; sons, Drs. Mark (Julie) Pope, Lawrenceville, Will Pope, Raleigh, N.C., Tim Lovell (Jessica), Gainesville; daughters, Angela Pope, Watkinsville, Jenifer (Boon) Simmons, Gainesville; sister and brother-in-law, JoAnn and Roger Williams, Dalton; seven grandchildren, Katie and Doug Carrick, Amy and Eric Hagood, Hannah Goldberg, Taylor Pope, Erin Pope, Chandler Lovell, Patrick Lovell; five great-grandchildren, Savannah Oddo, Ally Carrick, Will Hagood, Harper Hagood, Brandon Hagood; Christian (Rikke) Hoengaard, Rotary GRSP adopted son, Copenhagen, Denmark; parents-in-law, Dan and Jai Stanley, Winston-Salem, N.C.; sisters-in-law, Pia Leonard, Portland, Ore., Marketta (Richard) Goforth, Olympia, Wash., Jennifer (Dave) McComb, Seattle, Wash., Dannette Stanley, Charlotte, N.C..; stepsister-in-law, Myung Honor, Winston-Salem, N.C.; stepbrother-in-law, Kilsoo Lee, Atlanta; several nieces and nephews; special Friends, Freddy and Paula Seagraves, Murrayville, Polly and the late Billy Hood, Gainesville, Ed and Sylvia Holland, Cumming; his companion and namesake, Jackson the Bulldog.

A private celebration of life will be held at a later date in the Pope Family Garden, located on the grounds of Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

The family requests that memorials be made to The Medical Center Auxiliary or Hospice of Northeast Georgia, c/o The Medical Center Foundation, 2150 Limestone Pkway #115, Gainesville, GA 30501; also Good News at Noon, 979 Davis Street, Gainesville, GA 30501