After 93 years of a life well lived, Charles Richard Pope died peacefully on November 17 after his daily walk from his home in Austin, Texas.  He exited this world as he would have wished, with his independence and faculties intact.

Charles was born on August 21, 1928, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Charles Alfred Pope and Frances Marjorie Burnes.  He was "Chubby Dick" to his mother, and was known as Chub or Dick by his friends and family for the first half of his life.  While Chub was an only child, he was fortunate to have his three Fellows cousins (Harrison 'Bud', David and Bruce) as effective siblings.  His formative years were spent in Racine helping and playing with family, participating in school activities such as band (saxophone and bassoon) and athletics (wrestling and football) and student leadership.

Practical and studious (not to mention naturally bright), Charles graduated from Washington Park High School at the top of his class in 1946.  Following graduation, he enlisted in the US Navy and completed Electronics Materiel Training in 1947, graduating first in his class.  As a newly promoted Electronics Technician Second Class, he cruised the Mediterranean Sea on the USS Montague (AKA-98) and was discharged from active service in August of 1948.

While he achieved most of the training required to be an electrical engineer in his naval training, Chub really wanted to be a civil engineer like his Uncle Louis (County Surveyor for Racine County, WI.)  So he followed the advice of counselors at the University of Wisconsin to become a Chemical Engineer. (It was the most difficult curriculum, and from there he could do anything he wanted.) Charles graduated from UW Madison with high honors in 1952 with a BS in Chemical Engineering.

While at UW, Chub made time to do other things than study, as he was an active member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.  He met a coed from the Gamma Phi Beta sorority, Nancy Lee Maloney.  On graduation, Chub accepted a job with Standard Oil Company of New Jersey at their Bayway Refinery in Elizabeth, New Jersey.  A year later, Chub and Nancy were married.

In August of 1956, the couple embarked on an adventure of epic proportions when Chub was assigned to a position with Standard Vacuum Petroleum in Sumatra, Indonesia.  While there, Chub and Nancy had the opportunity to experience different cultures while living in southeast Asia and traveling the world. This developed into a lifelong passion.  While posted in Sungei Gerong, son Michael Louis Pope and daughter Sarah Lee Pope were born.  Many adventures later, the family returned to the states in 1963 and settled in Morristown, New Jersey with StanVac's parent company Esso Eastern. Busy with work and family, Chub added an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University to his achievements.

Seven years later, Chub and the family moved to Houston, Texas in 1970 along with many other energy company transferees. Chub was able to continue his passion for travel with Esso Eastern, specializing in the field of refinery economics and supporting installations in the far east.  While in Houston, he cultivated his love of music within the family. (A saxophone, clarinet and bassoon player, he was a lover of jazz and he could sing!).  He also continued to hone his skills in tennis and bridge (and dabbled in ballooning and scuba diving, and upgrading his single engine airplane pilot's license), while encouraging and enjoying the activities of his children.    With the death of his mother in 1974, his nickname faded from use and Charles was the name more commonly used. Over time, Charles and Nancy's interests diverged and they divorced in 1982.

Through a mutual friend, Charles was introduced to Joan Porter, a psychologist and family therapist.  While Charles and Joan had wildly different styles, they possessed remarkably similar views and perspective.  As Charles planned for his retirement, Joan figured more prominently as time passed.

Following his retirement in 1985, Charles and Joan were married on July 19, 1986. They moved into their present home in Austin, TX shortly thereafter. Charles had the best of all worlds. He continued to consult for Esso, teaching his course in oil refinery economics at various locations around the world.   He was able to travel, with plenty of time to finally pursue his other passions to their fullest.

Always a navy man, Charles' love for sailing featured prominently in his early years of retirement.  His mini-fleet included first a wind-surfer, then a sunfish sailboat followed by a 16-foot Southcoast sailboat in which he sailed and competed with the Austin Yacht Club fleet on Lake Travis.  He continued his other passions, and was a formidable competitor on the tennis court and at the bridge table.

He truly enjoyed living in the Hudson Bend area, and enjoyed having the time to support his community and further pursue his passions.  He was a member of the Hudson Bend Volunteer Fire Department, ultimately becoming Fire Commissioner.  Charles also sang with the Austin Chord Rangers, a singing group dedicated to the preservation and encouragement of barbershop quartet singing.  The group performed around the Austin area with wonderful exuberance.

Charles and Joan observed first-hand the transformation of Austin over the last three decades, and were firmly rooted in their quiet oasis on Hudson Bend.  Charles felt so fortunate to be in this place, and made it clear he didn't want to be anywhere else.  During the last ten years, Charles spent countless hours and energy pursuing the Pope family genealogy and all of its related branches.  The family will be forever indebted to Charles for so thoroughly researching our roots.

Charles was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Alfred Pope and Florence Marjorie Burnes Pope.

He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Joan Porter; his two children with Nancy: Michael (Rhonda) Pope of Houston, TX and Sarah (Patrick) Delaney of Hayward, WI; and Joan's daughters: Connie (Neal) Spelce of Austin and Pamela Davis of Austin.

He is survived by five grandchildren: Joseph Delaney of Houston, Kelly (Jeff) Graham of Denver, CO, Matt (Abby) Delaney of Minneapolis, MN, E.J. Clutter of Houston, and Jackson Pope of Houston; and six great-grandchildren: Leighton and Michael Delaney of Houston, Hunter and Riley Graham of Denver, and Max and Charles Delaney of Minneapolis.

Charles will be remembered and celebrated every time the family is together.