Rosemary Pope was a passionate woman who believed in filling her life with family and friends, connecting with nature, and traveling the world to learn from and experience different cultures.Rosemary Pope was a passionate woman who believed in filling her life with family and friends, connecting with nature, and traveling the world to learn from and experience different cultures.
“I’ll never forget her laugh,” said her niece, Ellen Learman. “She respected the earth and the gifts it gives us.” Rosemary loved to tell a good joke and make others laugh, and she lived life to the fullest, always open to new ideas and taking advantage of opportunities.
Her sister, Maureen Poirier, recalls that Rosemary never let anything hold her back. When Rosemary was in high school, she had to have her knee-cap removed and could no longer bend her leg. “But that didn’t stop her from doing the things she wanted,” said Maureen. “She always told us that the only things she couldn’t do were ice skate and ride a bike.”
Rosemary maintained a Japanese garden at her home, traveled the country to teach seminars on growing bonsai trees, visited China and Japan, and grew close to an exchange student named Yoko Kojima, who became like a daughter to her.
Rosemary made provisions in her estate plan to help others by removing barriers to allow them to seize new opportunities.
Upon her passing in 2017, a large portion of her estate was left to our community by way of the Bay Commitment Scholarship and the Bay Area Women’s Center Designated Endowment Fund at Bay Area Community Foundation.
Because of her gifts, more doors will open for first-generation college students and families who have suffered abuse. Rosemary’s generosity gives them the opportunity to live life to its fullest, just as she strove to do.
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