Mildred Leith Pope

Mildred Leith Shackleford Pope, formerly of this city, died in Evans, Georgia on October 17, 2012. She lived in the Broadmont neighborhood of the City of Falls Church for 60 years and was active in a variety of civic organizations. Mrs. Pope was well known for her love of gardening and history. An avid and accomplished gardener her entire life, her gardens at her Falls Church home were included in the 2007 Virginia State Historic House and Garden Tour. In the 1990’s, the National Cathedral and the National Arboretum accepted her prized American boxwoods for donation. Her historical interests led her to volunteer for the Smithsonian’s Victorian Garden exhibit; she was also an active member of the Northern Virginia Antique Arts Association and the Falls Church chapter of the Victorian Society of America. She served on the Falls Church Historical Commission for a number of years and was one of the founders and the first president of the Friends of Historic Cherry Hill Foundation. In remembrance of her long involvement with Cherry Hill, she directed that a pedestal sundial be donated to the Cherry Hill farmhouse upon her death.

Mrs. Pope's Leith ancestors were among the early settlers of Loudon County. Her family resided in Vienna, Virginia, where she was born on September 24, 1916. As a young woman she traveled into the District to attend school; she graduated from Western High School in Georgetown. She then attended the Washington College of Music, George Washington University, and won a scholarship to the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. During World War II, she volunteered as a Gray Lady for the Red Cross, playing the piano in local Army hospitals. For 50 years, she was active in Washington, DC and Virginia music circles as a pianist and a teacher.

Preceded in death by her husband, John Macauley Pope, and her son, John Macauley Pope, Jr. in 1997, she is survived by her daughter, Jane Pope Rigot and husband, Bill, Martinez, GA; son, James Quintard Pope and wife Renee, Arlington, VA; grandchildren Kathleen Leith Rigot, Denver, CO; Sarah Elizabeth Rigot, Arlington, VA; and William Taylor Rigot and wife Erin, of Greenville, SC.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, October 27, at Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church, Augusta, GA. Interment will be at Flint Hill Cemetery in Oakton, VA on Monday, November 5 at 11:00 a.m.