B’Countess (Hale) Pope

A Memorial Service for Mrs. B'  Countess Hale Pope, 93 of Olympia Fields, Illinois and formerly of Decatur, Alabama will be 11:00AM Saturday August 23, 2025, at King's Memorial United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends on Saturday from 10:00AM- 10:45AM at the church prior to the funeral.  Inurnment will be held in Burningtree Memorial Gardens. Mrs. Pope, a native of Sylacauga, Alabama transitioned on July 3, 2025 in Illinois.

In lieu of flowers the family request that donations be directed to Advocate Hospice Charitable Foundation 3075 Highland Pkwy, Suite 600 Downers Grove, IL 60515 or www.advocatehealth.org/foundations.

B’Countess Hale Pope, adored educator, beloved matriarch, community pillar, and ever-curious craftswoman, passed peacefully into eternal rest on July 3, 2025, at the age of 93 in Olympia Fields, IL. Like a hand-crocheted blanket, her life was pieced with purpose, patterned with faith, and edged in love. Born on September 6, 1931, in the humble town of Sylacauga, Alabama, during the hardships of the Great Depression, B’Countess was an embodiment of resilience and grace.

Her early years in Sylacauga shaped her character and provided treasured memories. B’Countess was raised in a modest shotgun house by her loving parents, Melvenia Allen Hale and Emmett Dean Hale, along with her grandparents, Palmer and Fannie Allen. Living in a multi-generational home, B’Countess wove a tight-knit fabric of community and love that she carried throughout her life. The family and surrounding community were supported by employment opportunities at the Avondale Cotton Mill, where both parents worked nights as janitors. The entire family was active members of St. Thomas United Methodist Church in Sylacauga.

Some of B’Countess’ fondest childhood memories were the bus rides to Florida, where she and other children from Sylacauga spent their summers at Camp Helen State Park. If asked, she could vividly recall playing on white sandy beaches, creating experiences which left lasting impressions on her spirit.

A twice alumna with a master's degree in education from the esteemed Tuskegee Institute, B'Countess dedicated her life to shaping countless young minds during her 30 plus year teaching career in Talladega and Morgan counties in Alabama. Her passion for learning was matched by her unwavering commitment to community service. After retiring from teaching, she continued to impact youth through her work with the Morgan County System of Services for Juvenile Youth Under Court Supervision (SOS). She also served as a trusted bailiff for Judges Brown and Thompson in the Morgan County Court System, in Decatur.

Woven delicately throughout every season of her life was devoted service to God and neighbor. She was an integral member of King's Memorial United Methodist Church (“UMC”) in Decatur. She encompassed a wide range of roles including secretary, children's Sunday school teacher, vacation bible school teacher, and after-school tutor. Her leadership as president of King’s Memorial United Methodist Women (now known as United Women in Faith), including her service as a member of the executive committee of the United Methodist Women’s North Alabama Conference, board member and substitute teacher for King’s Memorial UMC Pre-K program and teacher in the Athelyne Celest Banks After School Academy, reflected her exceptional ability to inspire and provide guidance to others.

Her personality flourished within her social circles, including her beloved Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and as president of the Les Belles Femme Club (a social/civic-minded club in Decatur started originally by a group of African American women teachers). She served in leadership roles such as a board member of the American Red Cross, president of the Morgan County Retired Teachers Association, and proudly held other community memberships in the Alabama Retired Teachers Association and the National Education Association. She also never turned down a Scrabble game, especially with her niece Adrienne P-K Washington and her friend Vernell (Nell) Cannon, each match bringing laughter, love, and friendly rivalry. Every summer, B’Countess crafted magic from cucumbers, turning them into sweet pickles with the grace of a hymn, offered up like kindness in a mason jar. Illness nudged her northward in 2020 to live with her daughter, Countess Danette, in Olympia Fields, IL. These quieter days opened unexpected doors: at age ninety-one where she taught herself to crochet, coaxing colorful yarn into more than thirty afghans. Each carefully crocheted blanket was sent out into the world as a quiet benediction, gently laid across a lap, a nursery rocker, or a hospital bed, and every stitch was a testament to her love and care.

B’Countess joins her predeceased husband, Leon Pope, and her beloved son, Eric Allen Pope. She was the last surviving child among her four siblings, Carmenita, David Earl, Gwendolyn, Vera, not including the special sibling relationship of Fred Crum Jr. Her memory and legacy lives on through her daughter, Countess Danette Pope Cary (Sterling), and stepson, Charles Cook (Alberta), her cherished grandchildren, Jonathan Keith Pope, Charles Pope, W. Sterling Cary III, Philip Sean Cary (Denyqua), Nicholas Pope, Kendrick Pope, Kiona Pope and her adored great-grandchildren, W. Sterling Cary IV, Philip Sean Cary Jr., Dapri Alexander Pope, Claire Monroe Cary, and Kaleb Sean Cary, brother in law James D. McCarns, plus nieces, (including Lois “Basket” Winston and Adrienne who kept in constant contact with her during her long illness) nephews, former students, friends, church family, neighbors, “adopted granddaughters” Florence Nicolette (Nikki) Byrd, Sammye Martin Davis, and all of whom still feel the warmth of the community she affectionately crocheted together. B’Countess leaves behind a patchwork of memories she lovingly helped thread together over the decades. A legacy best honored by spelling kindness with a triple-word-score, tending to the little ones in our midst, and casting a few rows of yarn for someone in need.

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