Verle A. Pope

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Verle A. Pope
President of the Florida Senate
In office
1966–1968
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the St. Johns County district
In office
1943
Personal details
Born(1903-12-12)December 12, 1903
Jacksonville, Florida
DiedJuly 18, 1973(1973-07-18) (aged 69)
St. Augustine, Florida
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Edith Taylor
​
​
(m. 1933; died 1961)​
Alma materUniversity of Florida

Verle Allyn Pope (December 12, 1903 – July 18, 1973), nicknamed The Lion of St. Johns, was a prominent Florida legislator, serving for 24 years in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate.

Born in Jacksonville to deaf parents, he attended high school, and was prominent in athletics and speech. He enlisted in the Air Corps in 1928 but was forced out of service due to a previously sustained knee injury. Seeking political office in 1934, he became county commissioner of St. Johns County. Eight years later, he successfully ran for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives, but later resigned due to acceptance into the U.S. Army. Shortly upon his return from oversees that saw him win awards for his service, in 1948, he ran, again successfully, as a senator for St. Augustine in the Florida Senate. Among the 24 years he served, he was involved in many important issues and held positions like President pro tempore and President of the Senate. He was forced into retirement in 1972 by bone cancer and died of it the year after.

Early life

Pope was born at Jacksonville in 1903 to two deaf parents, Artemus and Cora Carlton Pope, who were in the first graduating class of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine.[1] As a child, Pope and his family moved multiple times around the state of Florida before settling in St. Augustine. He learned sign language to communicate with his parents and did not start speaking until he was seven years of age.[2] He dropped out of school at the age of 14 and fabricated his age to join the United States Army, but this was soon discovered and he was forced back home to finish high school, when he honed oratory and athletic skills.[2][3] Upon finishing high school, he enrolled in the University of Florida where he hoped to have a prosperous football career. However, he suffered a torn cartilage in his knee shortly thereafter from football that forced him out of the university altogether and back home.[3] He then joined the United States Air Corps in 1928, but the knee injury he had previously sustained forced him out of that, as well.[1]

Political career

Pope in 1961

In 1934, he first sought public office as St. Johns County Commissioner, winning and defeating the incumbent by 26 votes.[1] He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for St. Johns County to serve in the 1943 session, but soon thereafter resigned to join the U.S. Army to fight in World War II.[4] During his years of service, which ended in December 1945, he won an Air Medal and Croix de Guerre while serving in Europe.[1]

Almost immediately upon his return to Florida, Pope got back into politics, running for and winning a seat in the

bone cancer in 1972[5] and did not seek re-election to the senate that year, returning to a private insurance business.[2]

Personal life and death

In his spare time, he enjoyed

Haydon Burns, Charley Johns, LeRoy Collins along with senator Lawton Chiles and then-governor Reubin Askew.[7] He was later interred at Evergreen Cemetery in St. Augustine alongside his wife.[2]

Legacy

Known affectionately as "The Lion of St. Johns" from his white flowing hair and "roaring" speaking skills,[1][8] Pope is known mostly for breaking the "rural hold" on the state legislature.[clarification needed] On reflection of his senate career, he remarked "I didn't get much legislation passed but I sure helped get a lot of bad bills killed."[2] Upon his death in 1973, many prominent state politicians paid tributes to him, among them, U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles stating that "His life was a beacon and standard to everyone of what a politician and public servant can be."[2] Then-governor Reubin Askew also paid tribute, saying "Florida has lost one of its most dedicated sons and I have lost a dear friend who was almost like a father".[5]

He was honored with a senate resolution in 1974.[9] The school that his parents graduated from was also renamed "The Verle Allyn Pope School for the Deaf and Blind" in a unanimous resolution that same year.[10]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Verle Pope.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "CoSA: City of St. Augustine, Florida". Staugustinegovernment.com. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "The Lion Of St. Johns Is Silenced". The Evening Independent. July 19, 1973. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Verle Allyn Pope Papers - UF Special and Area Studies Collections". Web.uflib.ufl.edu. 1903-12-12. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  4. ^ a b c "Florida House of Representatives". Myfloridahouse.gov. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  5. ^ a b c "Sen. Pope Dies; Given eulogy". The Miami News. July 19, 1973. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  6. ^ "Verle Allyn Pope". The Flagler Tribune. July 26, 1973. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  7. ^ "Verle Pope Funeral; Governor, Lawmakers Attend". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. July 21, 1973. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  8. ^ "Hall of Fame". Site.mysahs.com. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  9. ^ "Senate pays tribute to late Verle Pope". Boca Raton News. May 9, 1974. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  10. ^ "Senate Renames School To Honor Late Sen. Pope". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. May 10, 1974. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
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