Elizabeth Lillian Dante Pope

1945 - 2021

POPE, Elizabeth Lillian Dante Cohen, died peacefully in her home on August 1, 2021, in the company of family and a small group of dear friends. She was 76.

She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Robert Dean Pope; her son, Justin Nicholas Nathanson Pope and his wife Dr. Maria Almond; and their two daughters, Aliza Eloise Almond Pope and Emilia Sylvie Almond Pope, of Farmville. Other survivors include two brothers, Jonathan Cohen of Alexandria and James Cohen of Hartford, Conn., their wives, Susan and Amy Jane; and four nieces and nephews: Andrew Cohen and wife Jennifer of Needham, Mass., Allison Cohen of Wayland, Mass., Robert Cohen and wife Kerri of Baltimore and Emily Gustina and husband, Greg of Missoula, Montana.

Elizabeth was born on May 9, 1945, Victory in Europe Day, in New Haven, Conn. Her father, Louis H. Cohen, was a distinguished psychiatrist at the Yale University Medical School and her mother, Sylvia Nathanson Cohen, was a psychologist. Elizabeth loved theater from an early age. As a high school student, she acted in plays given by the Yale Dramatic Association with such future stars as Sam Waterston and Austin Pendleton in the days before Yale became coeducational. She followed her mother to Smith College, where she majored in English and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching in English at Yale.

In New Haven, she met Dean Pope, then a law and graduate student, and they married in 1971. She was a Northern Jewish liberal whose passion was the performing arts; he was a Southern Episcopal conservative who loved fishing and sports. Despite dire predictions against their marriage, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June, just days after her cancer diagnosis. Asked to explain their success, she always answered "separate bathrooms." The actual reason was a deep reservoir of romantic devotion that carried them through good times and bad.

Dean and Elizabeth moved to Richmond in 1973, when her husband started his career at the law firm then known as Hunton, Williams, Gay & Gibson. She taught English at several institutions, including the University of Richmond, but her most exciting teaching experience was at St. Catherine's School, where she created a senior honors seminar on the nature of revolutions – in history, literature and science. She proudly cheered as many of her students went on to great academic and professional accomplishments.

Later, she served as an editor for first-time book authors. One was the late Langhorne Gibson Jr., of Richmond, whose first book, "The Gibson Girl: Portrait of a Southern Belle," was an acclaimed biography of his well-known grandmother, Irene Langhorne Gibson. "My best decision through the long process of making this book was asking you to edit it," Gibson wrote to her after publication. "Thank you for your talent and your style."

Liz and Dean found great joy in traveling, particularly to London, which they visited regularly to partake in theater, restaurants and museums. They added another extended family to their life when son Justin married Maria in 2007 and found further joy in 2013, when Maria and Justin moved with their two daughters from Michigan to Farmville, permitting regular granddaughter visits with "Nana," who showered them with gifts and love.

Elizabeth and a group of fellow Smithies started a local Smith Book Club more than 30 years ago, which endures. She was a member of Congregation Beth Ahabah. An excellent cook who kept an impeccable home, she was a devoted and adoring mother to Justin, a doting grandmother and a fiercely loyal friend through thick and thin to a core group of lifelong friends, including Marta Rosbe and Stan and Fran Goldman, who, along with Dean and Justin, were present with her at her death.

The family will receive friends 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Friday, August 6 at Bliley's -Central, 3801 Augusta Ave., where a memorial service will begin at 1:30 p.m., with social distancing precautions and masks requested for guests. Burial will be private. In lieu of a reception, the family plans to host a future event in her honor, when public health conditions improve. A livestream link of the service can be found at blileys.com.

The family suggests memorial gifts to the Cantor Goldman Music Fund at Congregation Beth Ahabah, the Smith Fund at Smith College, the Virginia Repertory Theatre, or the Elizabeth Cohen and Robert Dean Pope Scholarship Fund at Longwood University.