Dana Lee Pope

Dana Lee Pope, 70, of Murphy, North Carolina passed away on Wednesday, August 20, 2025. He was born on August 12, 1955 in Bradenton, Florida to Herman Harold Pope and Gladys Irene Carlton Pope.
Dana was a devoted husband to Karen Bootsma Pope and a loving father to their four children Danielle, Jared, Caleb, and Luke. Kaitlynn and Rebecca Pope and Caleb Herod were also loved like his own. Dana has eight grandchildren: Celeste, Caedmon, Felicity, and Bentley Herod; Cassidy, Asher, and Autumn Pope; and Sawyer Pope. He is survived by his sisters Donna Mizell, Cindy Pope, and Jane Pope and preceded in death by his brother Buddy Pope.
Dana committed his life to Christ at the age of eighteen and bore fruit that was evident to all who knew him. He was a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Murphy First Baptist Church, and had been an active member at House of Prayer in Blairsville, Georgia the last seventeen years. His Bible consistently wore out, and even in his last months he could be spotted with a Bible open on his lap.
Dana was a business owner creating Mi-Po Tree Service in 1983 which is now run by his two eldest sons still serving the community today. Red Wing Shoes honored small business owners using their boots in a campaign in 2017. Dana was selected and featured by the company for a poem he wrote about his boots. The last line reads, One day these boots and I will have climbed our last, Then we will look back and say, "Boy, that went fast!" So, whatever you're called in this life to do, give it your all till the day that you're through!
He had an outstanding work ethic and lived this poetic sentiment out daily. Dana was also a professional firefighter working as an engineer for Hall County, Ga until he retired in 2007.
A natural thespian, he began using this talent in middle school by first portraying a role as Elvis at a drive in movie theater. For over a decade he portrayed the role of Jesus in the Easter pageant with Murphy First Baptist Church. His children also received nightly bedtime story reenactments they all thoroughly enjoyed.
He was a gifted athlete. Dana ran county track and played football for Manatee County High School. He loved winning against his younger firefighter buddies in weightlifting, ping-pong, and arm wrestling. He passed his love for ping-pong to his daughter and accompanied her to tournaments during college. He taught his first two sons to play baseball, and later was the announcer for Cherokee County Aquatic swim meets for his youngest son's team. He was a master at throwing cornhole bags often winning tournaments. He also was a skilled slalom water skier and took pride in teaching even the most resistant learners to enjoy the sport.
When he relocated with siblings from Florida to North Carolina in 1983, purchasing acreage with a pioneering mindset, his ability as a skilled craftsman emerged. He cleared his lot providing for his family by building a log cabin, shaping and placing every log and finishing every detail from the ground up. It remains the family home today. He also built numerous pieces of furniture and hand crafted a dulcimer which he learned to beautifully play.
Dana had an adventurous spirit and loved the great outdoors. He enjoyed hiking, kayaking, scuba diving, cast net fishing for mullet, and camping.
Dana was an avid lover of little ditties- a country poet always prepared to make a rhyme for any situation. So we will close in that vein:
Mere words simply cannot explain,
All the ways Dana attained.
But if you're still reading
You've gotten the gist,
Of just how much he will be missed!
2 Timothy 4:7-8
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
Memorial service for Dana was held at 1 o'clock, Saturday, August 30th, at House of Prayer Chapel 1400 Pat Colwell Rd, Blairsville, Ga. Honorary pallbearers were Lawrence Montgomery, Benjamin Pope, Daniel Pope, Isaac Pope, Caleb James Herod, and Peter Zwier.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Canal Lake Bible Camp or the Georgia Mountain Pregnancy Center.
Ivie Funeral Home, Murphy in charge of arrangements