WADESBORO — Eddie Pope was born in Anson County on January 26, 1954 and after 30 years of service with the Town of Wadesboro as a dispatcher and later as the first fire chief for the town, he became the owner and operator of Pope’s Fire Protection.
Tragically, on July 15, Eddie Pope was in his garage when a tree fell through the roof during a thunderstorm, landing on him. But with the outpouring of support that current fire chief Marc Sessions said the department and family have received, it’s easy to see how many lives Pope had touched and saved during his career.
Sessions began his life as a Wadesboro firefighter in 1986 when Eddie Pope originally hired him. Now that he’s been the chief since March of 2014, there’s been one main lesson he’s taken away from his predecessor.
“The number one thing is trying to remain calm,” said Sessions. “He had an uncanny ability to be able to size up a situation quickly in a calm, rational manner…any fire chief needs that quality.”
Although Eddie Pope will be remembered as a servant for the city, those closest to him will memorialize him as a top notch hunter.
“He was an avid hunter. Didn’t matter what it was, he would hunt it,” said his son Jonathan Pope. “The best memories I have with him are doing something hunting.”
Sessions repeated this saying that his best personal memory of Eddie Pope involved hunting with his son, Stetson.
“I have an 11-year-old son that he had been taking deer hunting this previous fall. He continued to tell my son they’re gonna get a deer but on Dec. 9 he called me in the office and asked, ‘Does Stetson want to go hunting?’ Eddie was my uncle by marriage. So in the eyes of an 11-year-old, Eddie was the epitome of the hunting world,” said Sessions. “He came running in the house and said he was gonna kill him a deer that day. ‘Uncle Eddie said I’m gonna kill a deer today.’
“The fire department had an event to prepare for that night,” he continued. “Eddie text me about 5 p.m. and wanted to know where to bring him when they got done hunting. I had called my wife prior to that to go ahead and get ready to help me with Stetson. He told me he was gonna kill a deer today. Hunting with Eddie so many times, when he tells you something that you can take it to the bank. He texted me again and said to bring the 4-wheeler and lights and help look for the deer. An 11-year-old was as excited as can be. It’s a memory of a lifetime. He got to kill a deer and share it with his uncle Eddie.”
Gone but not forgotten, Jonathan Pope said his dad was always there to help other people, no matter the situation.
“He was always there to be a support for anybody that needed him,” said his son. “He was the guy that always had the answer, and if he didn’t have it he was damn sure gonna find it. I do believe the world is a lesser place because he’s gone, and we were all better people to have known him.”
Edgar “Eddie” Reece Pope Jr., 62, passed away July 25, 2016 at Carolinas Medical Center Main in Charlotte.
Reach reporter Matt Harrelson at 910-817-2674 and follow him on Twitter @mattyharrelson.
