Carol N. (Gottula) Pope

Carol N. Pope went home to her beloved Lord and Savior on April 6, 2023. Carol was born on September 20, 1935 to Everett and Thelma (Boatman) Gottula of rural Tecumseh.  Carol graduated from Tecumseh High School in 1952. She once remembered that as a child, one of her neighbors (a young man named Gene) knew that she loved kittens. His family recently had a litter with a beautiful white kitty and he gave it to her. She loved that kitty and seemed to think that Gene was all right too. Later on, the neighbor boy was shipped off with the Army to fight in the Korean War. Carol’s father, who liked the young man, forced her to be his pen pal and write him letters while he was overseas. Carol balked at the idea and thought for sure the young man, who was 7 years older than she, wouldn’t want to hear from a kid back home. She was wrong. Over time, a romance developed. The two were married on August 22, 1954 shortly after Gene came home from the service. In all, seven children were born from their union. The first three came in fast succession and the next four were spread out after that.  Carol was a long-time active member of the First Baptist Church in Tecumseh, where she taught preschool and kindergarten Sunday School for many, many years and organized funeral luncheons over the years. 

Reminiscing about her big family, Carol once said jokingly, “If anyone had told me on my wedding day that I was going to have seven children, I would have taken off running right then and there. I’d probably be running to this day!” Together, Carol and Gene embraced the difficulties of juggling farm and family. There was always work to be done; fields to plow, cows to milk, children to feed, church activities to organize, etc. The list was never ending. But, Carol approached all of these things with a practical mind and a heart that was joyous and faithful in her Lord Jesus Christ. Carol was always proudest that while the family never had much money, each of her children attended college, or obtained an advanced degree after high school. She was also very proud that she was a cancer survivor, having fought the disease later in life. In later years,

Gene and Carol enjoyed their retirement by riding their four wheelers and golf cart. The cows were sold in 1996, but the farm was still abuzz with dogs, cats, sheep and other critters. They loved the outdoors and especially loved watching their grandkids play on the home place. Once, surrounded by the cacophony that was their family, Carol patted Gene’s hand and said proudly, “This is our retirement. We may not have a lot of money, but we have family!”

Carol was preceded in death by husband Gene and sister Marian Staley (Ken).

She is survived by children Brad Pope (Elaine) of Lincoln, Laurie Martin (Ken) of Beatrice, Steve Pope (Loretta) of Tecumseh, Michelle Shaffer (James) of Texas, Chris Pope (Terry) of Massachusetts, Scott Pope (Anne) of Eagle, Peg Davis (Shawn) of Lincoln, grandchildren Tyler Pope, Lisa Pope, Eric Martin (Amber), Brett Martin, Justin Martin (Tonya), Travis Pope, Lionel Shaffer, Simone Fiddes, August Pope, Lily Pope, Andrew Davis, Braden Davis, Caleb Davis, Dani Davis, Ethan Davis and Frankie Davis, and seven great-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, May 28, 2023 at the First Baptist Church in Tecumseh, Nebraska with Pastor Hugh Giesbrecht officiating.

Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday, May 26, 2023 at the Wherry Mortuary in Tecumseh, Nebraska.  Family will greet friends from 5-7 p.m.

Memorials may go to the First Baptist Church or the American Cancer Society.

Inurnment will be at 2:00 p.m. in the Tecumseh Cemetery, Tecumseh, Nebraska.

Online condolences may be left @ www.wherrymortuary.com.

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