Paul Fitts Pope

This beloved senior member of his family was born February 7, 1929, in the rural community of Steadman, seven miles north of Tallapoosa, Georgia. He served in the U.S. Navy for four years in the early 1950’s before returning to civilian life to live and work in the suburban Atlanta community of Doraville, Georgia.

Paul was the middle child of seven born to Blane and Ona Pope. He is survived by his youngest sibling, Lester Pope, of Belleville, Illinois; his granddaughter, Melissa Ferris of Kasson, Minnesota; his nephew, Ray Pope of Salisbury, North Carolina; his niece, Marian Baird of Silver Creek, Georgia; and a host of other nieces and nephews from around the nation.

With a lifelong love of horses, Paul owned several during the many years of his long life and was an excellent equestrian rider. He was especially fond of Apaloosa horses, and owned several over the course of his long life.

For more than five decades, Paul was the owner and operator of Paul Pope Equipment of Pell City, Alabama, only selling his business in 2018 when he was 89 years old in order to care for his second wife.

He was preceded in death by his three wives, Billie Pope, Elna Pope, and Helen Pope, as well as by five brothers, one sister, and several nieces and nephews.

Paul was a devout Christian, believing strongly in the teachings of Jesus, especially that of loving others and treating all with kindness and respect, regardless of gender, race, or political beliefs, something he attributed to what his mother taught him during his formative years. At the time of his death, he was the oldest member of the First Baptist Church of Pell City, Alabama.

“I don’t know why we can’t learn to just love each other and live together peacefully,” he remarked to a close relative less than two weeks before he passed away. That’s the kind of man he was.

Funeral services for Paul F. Pope will be held on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at Kilgroe Funeral Home, 2219 2nd Ave North in Pell City. Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m., and memorial services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Valley Hill Memorial Gardens in Pell City.