Lois Berrodin Pope (born June 7, 1933)The Lois Pope Foundation
"Tribute to 3 Million Disabled American Veterans"
Disabled World, May 23, 2011. Accessed April 16, 2012. is an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. She is the widow of ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...

'' founder

Generoso Pope, Jr. Generoso Paul "Gene" Pope Jr. (1927–1988) was an American media mogul, best known for creating ''The National Enquirer'' as it is known today. Early life Pope was born on January 13, 1927. His father, Generoso Pope, was a New York political ...

Early life

Pope was born Lois Berrodin in suburban

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. She attended, but did not graduate from,

Chestnut Hill College Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount Saint Joseph College ...

in Philadelphia,The Lois Pope Foundation
"About: Leaders in Furthering Education"
Leaders in Furthering Education. Archived from the original on February 16, 2006. Accessed March 25, 2006. which later presented her with an Honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

Degree in recognition of her philanthropic work. Pope later attended

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

in New Jersey and

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

. Pope has an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the

Rabbinical College of America The Rabbinical College of America is a Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic yeshiva in Morristown, New Jersey. The Yeshiva is under the direction of Rabbi Moshe Herson. The growth of the Yeshiva college has had a significant cultural effect on the commun ...

Philanthropy

Pope established the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation and the Lois Pope LIFE Center. The Lois Pope LIFE Center is a neurological research facility that originated from Pope’s contribution of $10 million to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.The Lois Pope Foundation
"The Lois Pope LIFE Center Will Be Top Neurological Research Facility In The World"
, Lois Pope Foundation, October 26, 2000. Accessed April 16, 2012. In addition, Pope has donated $12 million to the University of Miami's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute to establish a center for research into treatments for macular degeneration and retinal diseases. The new center will be called the Lois Pope Center for Retinal & Macular Degeneration Research. Pope’s organizations have sponsored a variety of charitable endeavors, including a clean-water project in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, summer camp grants for disadvantaged youths, programs to honor disabled veterans, and HealthCorps. She initiated the discussions which led to the creation of the

American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial is a memorial in Washington, D.C., which honors veterans of the armed forces of the United States who were permanently disabled during the course of their national service. Congress adopted legisla ...

, to which she and her foundations donated more than $10 million. As a patron of the arts, she has supported the

Florida Philharmonic Orchestra The Florida Philharmonic Orchestra (or FPO, founded in 1985 as the Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida) was a symphony orchestra based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and serving the South Florida metropolitan area (including Miami-Dade, Broward, and ...

, the

Palm Beach Opera Palm Beach Opera, a professional opera company in West Palm Beach, Florida performs at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts as well as other locations throughout South Florida, was founded in 1961 as "Civic Opera of the Palm Beaches." Over its ...

and the Armory Art Center in

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

Personal life

Pope married

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

agent George Wood in 1959. They had two children, Maria and Michele. She was married to

, who acquired the ''

" in 1952. In 1988, he died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 61. About a year after his death, and according to the terms of his will, the executors of his estate put the ''Enquirer'' and its sister publications up for sale. The company was bought in a closed auction by Macfadden Publishing and Boston Ventures partnership for $412 million.'' She resides in

Manalapan, Florida Manalapan is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 406 at the 2010 United States census. History United States President Benjamin Harrison granted George H. K. Carter a homestead in 1889 on the yet unnamed lan ...

. She has four children. One of her children with Generoso, Lorraine (born 1973), has

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

and lives in a residence for developmentally-challenged individuals in

Ross, California Ross is a small List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Ross is located west-southwest of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at ...

. In May 2013, Pope's son, Paul, was arrested on a complaint of public nudity and intoxication.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Lois 1933 births Living people People from Philadelphia People from Delray Beach, Florida Chestnut Hill College alumni Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni Florida Atlantic University alumni American philanthropists