BELATED OBITUARY - MARK C. POPE III, FORMER CHAIRMAN & CEO OF GRAPHIC INDUSTRIES

OBITUARY

Mark C. POPE III

DECEMBER 14, 1924 – MAY 28, 2019

Mark Cooper Pope III passed away on May 28, 2019. He was born in Washington DC on December 14, 1924, to Mark Cooper Pope Jr. and Nancy Braxton Pope. 

Mark was a decorated World War II veteran, a visionary entrepreneur and the founder of Graphics Industries, Inc., the first multi-state consolidator of printing companies in the country.He expanded the company from one Atlanta printer into a New York Stock Exchange listed company ranked among the ten highest volume printing operations in the United States.

After graduating from North Fulton High School, Mark enrolled in the University of North Carolina in September 1941, two months before World War II broke out. Having enlisted in the Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps, he was called to active duty and commissioned as a U.S. Navy Ensign in February 1944. He was assigned to the USS Haggard DD-555, a Fletcher class destroyer that took part in some of the largest and most significant battles in the Pacific.

After the war, he resumed his studies at UNC and graduated with a business degree in June 1947. He returned to Atlanta and started several small businesses, including a vending machine operation, frozen food delivery service and a restaurant.

In 1949, he joined Williams Printing Company, a one man printing shop founded in 1922 by his father-in-law, Jesse R. Williams. After the death of Jesse Williams in 1955, Mark became president and for the next decade built the business into a leading Atlanta printing company. In 1968 he organized Graphic Industries, Inc and led its expansion into 25 companies, which at that time was the nation’s largest network of high quality printing companies. For his outstanding contributions to the industry, he was presented the Ben Franklin Award from the Printing Industry of Georgia in 1981 and was elected to the printing Impressions National Hall of Fame in 1992.

Mark was co-author of “Mark Anthony Cooper”, a biography of his great, great grandfather and “Aboard the USS Haggard DD-555in World War II”, an account of his wartime service.

In addition to his executive roles with Graphic Industries, Inc., Mark was a member of the Board of Directors of the Alpharetta Community Bank and the Buckhead Community Bank. He was a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club, a founding member of the Buckhead coalition and member of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation in Atlanta. He loved the University of North Carolina and enjoyed taking his children and grandchildren to football and basketball games. He was a member of the Peachtree Golf Club, Piedmont Driving Club, Capital City Club, Ocean Forest Club, Cherokee Town and Country Club and Homosassa Fishing Club. He was also a long time coach for Buckhead Baseball.

Mark is predeceased by his first wife and mother of his four children, Betty Williams Pope, his second wife, Elizabeth George Pope and his granddaughter, Lisa Pope Swanson. He is survived by four children, John R. Pope (Nancy), Mark C. Pope IV (Chilton), Patty P. Hatcher (Jim) and Carter D. Pope (Bet), 9 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Braxton Pope (Donna), sister Jaquelin Adams, two nieces and a nephew.

 

Blog Publisher’s comment:

 

I don’t know how I managed to miss the passing of this awesome gentleman.  I’m very sorry for the very belated notice of his passing.  Mark C Pope, III (affectionately known as MCP3) was the Chairman & CEO of Graphic Industries, one of the world’s largest printing enterprises.

 

MCP3 was a true southern gentleman.  A wonderful, brilliant, inspirational person.  I had the good fortune, and privilege, to meet MCP3 back around 1984.  One of the companies MCP3 owned was Atlanta Blueprint (which in later years was became known as Imaging Technologies.)  I actually met Mark Pope before I met Carter, his son.   When MCP3 sold Graphic Industries to a larger enterprise, that sale did not include Imaging Technologies.  Graphic Industries sold Imaging Technologies to MCP3’s son, Carter Pope.  Carter later sold Imaging Technologies to ARC Document Solutions.