Walter Leon Pope

On August 23rd, 1934 Walter Leon Pope was born to Monie Ora (Montgomery) Pope and James Lee Pope in the township of Owen just outside Little Rock, Arkansas. Walt was one of 11, having 3 sisters and 7 brothers. It was there in Arkansas that Walt first fell in love with the game of Golf. As a young boy, he would caddy. Once Walt was of age, he joined the Navy. Walt enlisted in October 1952 and was stationed in Astoria, Oregon. He was deployed on the aircraft carrier, Shangri-La. Walt was fortunate enough to never see combat, even though he was enlisted during the Korean War. While he was stationed in Astoria, he met Dianne (Cooper) Stiger, fell in love and married. While living on the Oregon Coast, they had their first child, Walter B. The family moved to Portland in December of 1955. Walt left the Navy in November of 1956. They had two more children together, Colleen and David.

After Walt was out of the Navy, he worked a few different jobs. One of these jobs was as a doorman for the Multnomah Hotel. On May 1st, 1961, Walt started what would be his life long career at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon. He worked there until he retired after 33 1/3 years. He held several different positions at the Hilton. However he loved being a doorman the most. Walt met many famous people in his year’s downtown. The people who worked in the downtown area knew Walt and his smile. It was at the Hilton Hotel where Walt met and fell in love with Dana (Bradshaw) Pope. They married in 1970 and were together until his passing.

Walt was charismatic, funny, charming, handsome and kind. He possessed a magnetic personality, which gave him many friends. He loved big family gatherings of any kind. As long as everyone was together, he was happy. Walt loved to Golf. Any chance he could, he was on a course. He passed this love of Golf on to many of his kids, grandkids and great grandkids. Bowling was another loved pastime of Walt’s. He was on several leagues throughout the years. Walt also had a special love for dogs. He had many dogs in his lifetime, starting at his childhood home in Arkansas. In later years, he showed his dog, Murphy, at Dog Shows. Walt was also a member of the American Legion for over 27 years.

On September 19, 2023 Walt passed away. Walt is survived by his wife Dana Pope, his former wife, Dianne Stiger, his sister Ruby Swafford, his children, Walter B, Colleen (Pope) Dick (Doug), David (Sara), his daughter in law, Carol (Sullivan) Pope, his seven grandchildren, Krystal, James, Jessica, Michael (Walt’s), Alex, Bryan, Allyson (David’s) and 8 great grandchildren.

Committal Services with Military Honors for Walter will be held on Tuesday, October 10th 2023 at 2:30pm at Willamette National Cemetery.