Lois Pope

Lois Berrodin Pope (born June 7, 1933, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is one of America's leading philanthropists. She is the widow of National Enquirer founder, Generoso Pope Jr.

Pope attended Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, which later presented her with an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in recognition of her philanthropic work.

In 1988, Pope's husband died of a heart attack at the age of 61. About a year after his death, and according to the terms of Pope's will, the executors of his estate, including former Secretary of Commerce, Pete Peterson arranged to put the Enquirer and its sister publications up for sale. The company was bought in a closed auction by the Macfadden Publishing and Boston Ventures partnership for $412 million.

With the proceeds from that sale, Pope established two charitable organizations: the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation and LIFE. LIFE is an acronymfor Leaders in Furthering Education. These two organizations have sponsored numerous projects in 3 key areas: medical research, humanitarian relief and the performing arts.

In the field of medical research, the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation is the driving force behind the Lois Pope LIFE Center in Florida, the top neurological research facility in the world.

In the area of humanitarian relief, Popes charitable organizations have sponsored a clean water project in hurricane-ravaged Guatemala, grants to start summer camps for disadvantaged youths, and programs to honor disabled veterans.

As a patron of the arts, Pope has supported the Florida Philharmonic, the Palm Beach Opera and the Montgomery Armory Arts Center.

Pope resides in Palm Beach County, Florida. She has four children and six grandchildren. She has trained for and competed in five New York City Marathons. [cite web | title=About: Leaders in Furthering Education | publisher:Lois Pope Life Foundation | url=http://www.life-edu.org/about.html | accessdate=25 March | accessyear=2006]

Lois Pope is Co-founder of the American Disabled for Life Memorial [http://AVDLM.org http://AVDLM.org] and the Disabled Veterans for LIFE Memorial Foundation (DVLMF). Questions have been raised by family members as to financial decisions made by Lois Pope. "What would dad say if he were alive"? I am convinced that he would be furious. (Paul Pope) ( [http://www.wheresthemoneylois.com http://www.wheresthemoneylois.com] ) Mr. Arthur H. Wilson, CEO of the Disabled American Veterans (a national service organization representing millions of disabled veterans) serves as president of DVLMF. The Veteran Community and the donors to the Memorial need to ask questions about the financial status and the management decisions by the organization chartered by Congress to build this project.

References