AMERICUS, Ga. (WALB) - For decades, Nadine Pope captured other people’s most important moments. This week, Southwest Georgia is honoring hers.

Pope passed away Jan. 16 after a battle with stage four glioblastoma. She was 67. On Friday, Jan. 23, a U.S. congressman, the president of Phoebe Sumter Medical Center and the mayor of Americus will gather to celebrate her life — a reflection of the impact she made across Americus, Sumter County and beyond.

A Life Rooted in Faith and Community

Pope’s family gathered at her home to share memories. The stories came easily, painting a picture of a woman who lived her values every single day.

“She was the matriarch of our family,” Valerie McGhee, Pope’s niece, said. “Every day that she woke up, she was spreading love or helping someone in some way.”

McGhee described her aunt as a perfectionist with an elegant touch.

“We always laughed because we said everything she touched turned to gold,” McGhee said. “She could turn the most simplest room into something very majestic.”

Pope was raised in Americus with deep ties to faith and service. She spent decades serving her church family, first at St. Paul AME Church in Smithville and later at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Americus, where she served as church administrator and event planner.

Purpose in Focus

Pope’s path to community service took an unexpected turn in the late 1980s. After working for years in manufacturing, she was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and could no longer continue in her field.

Rather than let the diagnosis define her, Pope enrolled at South Georgia Technical College. Later, she launched Artistic Photography, a business that allowed her to serve her community through her lens. Over the years, she captured thousands of moments — weddings, graduations, family reunions and historic events throughout Americus and Sumter County.

“She was an excellent photographer, had a keen eye for detail and beauty,” Carlyle Walton, president of Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, said. “She would come to our events and take pictures.”

For many families, their most meaningful memories exist because Nadine Pope was there to document them.

A Fingerprint on the Community

But Pope’s commitment to community extended far beyond her business.

“She had a fingerprint in a whole lot of things in our community,” Bishop Melvin McCluster, her pastor at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, said.

Pope volunteered at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center as a photographer and later served as chair of the hospital’s Family Patient Advisory Committee. She was a founding member of the council in 2017 and took her role seriously.

“She said, ‘I want your new employees to hear what the community expects of them and how the community views what they do,’” Walton recounted. “She volunteered to speak at our new employee orientation sessions.”

Even as a patient herself, Pope never stopped thinking about how to improve care for others.

“Even though she was focused on getting well, she would always connect with me when she was discharged and say, ‘Well, here are the things I really like. Here are the things we should be doing better,’” Walton said. “Not just thinking about herself, but always thinking about how we could make it better.”

Pope also served on numerous boards and committees, leading many organizations and nonprofits: Sisters in Service (voter registration nonprofit), Americus Downtown Holdings (secretary), American Legion Auxiliary Post 558 (former president), MLK Celebration Committee and the Golden Heart Foundation. Her family notes other achievements, such as the 2015 NAACP President’s Award recipient.

She was instrumental in organizing the first Veterans Parade in Americus, working alongside the late veteran Frank Mitchell.

Pope’s Fight for Justice and Unity

McCluster said Pope stood for something clear: justice.

“She was fighting for justice,” he said. “She wanted to make sure that everybody in the city would go out and vote for the candidate of their choice, because she stood for what was right.”

Pope believed voting gave people a voice to make things right in the community. She worked to ensure the Black community in Americus was represented in different sectors and helped others get on boards and committees.

But her impact crossed all lines.

“She reached across cultural lines, racial lines and she was able to kind of pull people together,” McCluster said.

Serving the Marginalized

One of Pope’s most impactful roles focused on the community’s most vulnerable.

“Nadine was about assisting the marginalized, the disenfranchised,” Walton said.

Nadine Pope and Carlyle Walton spearheaded the Homelessness to Affordable Housing Coalition at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. The initiative used the church as a temporary shelter for homeless people. But their vision went further — raising money to help people move into permanent, affordable housing.

Walton recalled noticing on cold evenings that the hospital’s emergency room waiting area would be crowded with people seeking a warm place to spend the night. Pope sensed Walton’s similar passion for addressing homelessness and pulled together a diverse coalition.

“She wanted to put this coalition together,” Walton said. “It truly was a richly diverse coalition that she pulled together.”

A Lens of Resilience

Throughout her life, Pope faced significant health challenges, but her niece said she turned every obstacle into a testimony.

“She used her life as a testimony to say it doesn’t matter what you’re going through. It doesn’t matter your situation, and you don’t have to look like what you’re going through,” McGhee said. “But every day you wake up, go and help somebody and spread love. And so that’s what she did.”

In September 2025, Pope was diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. She battled the disease for four months before passing away on Jan. 16.

“Even through that, her presence brought so many people together, even through her sickness,” McGhee said.

Americus Honors Her Legacy

On Nov. 1, 2025, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church held “Stand for Nadine,” a benefit program during her battle with cancer.

That same day, U.S. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. proclaimed Nov. 1 as “Nadine Pope Day” in his congressional district. She also received accolades from city and county commissioners. Her service also earned her a key to the city of Americus in 2018 and recognition as a community trailblazer by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.

Pope’s funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 24, at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. Among those expected to attend are Rep. Bishop, Walton and the Americus mayor.

Pope’s Work Continues

McGhee said the family hopes Nov. 1 will become an annual day of unity in her aunt’s honor.

“We’re hoping on every November 1st that we could see unity— whether it be Black, white, different organizations, businesses, churches— come together,” she said. “Making sure that people had a voice. Making sure that they know what’s important in the community. Coming together, showing love and also spreading hope.”

McCluster echoed that hope.

“I really hope and pray that people will remember the work that she’s done and continue the work that she has done,” he said. “Continue to get out and solicit people to vote, continue to stand up for people who could not speak for themselves or afraid to speak for themselves.”

For Walton, Pope was a living example of faith in action.

“Nadine passed Jesus’ open book test when he said, ‘if you do it to the least of these, you have done it unto me,’” Walton said. “She was just a walking example of what it means to live an unambiguous Christian life. She walked the talk.”

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