Bernard H. Poppe

Bernard H. Poppe, "Bernie", 97, passed away on Wednesday at the Scallop Shell Nursing and Rehab Center surrounded by his loving family. He was born at home in 1919 in Rochester, NY to the late William and Margaret (VanNipsen) Poppe. He was the beloved husband of the late Carolyn (Bell) Poppe to whom he was married to for 47 years. He and his family lived in Rochester until the "Great Depression" when they traveled up the Eastern Seaboard, leaving on New Years Day in 1939, looking for construction work after the "Hurricane of '38" where they found various jobs in the Watch Hill, Charlestown and Green Hill area in RI. They bought a home on Maple Dr., Green Hill and it burned to the ground a month after they moved in. They rebuilt the home to a smaller scale and the home was once known as the former Abijah Browning House, the Coq D'Or Club and later The Greenhill Inn. Mr. Poppe bought some other acreage including 3 acres of beachfront land which he eventually sold to the Green Hill Acres Assoc. He and several local families of the Assoc. decided in 1961 to found the Green Hill Beach Club before it had a clubhouse or parking lot. He also sold a parcel of land in 1998 to the Town of South Kingstown which eventually became the Green Hill Park in 2003 which provides passive recreation for all ages of the community in a beautiful natural setting. Mr.Poppe worked as a local self-employed builder, first with his father and then with various other builders and eventually his son, Ronald Poppe. Mr. Poppe worked as a part time tax assessor when it still was an elected office. He was a member of the Lion's Club, the Jaycees, Matunuck School PTO and a former member of the South Kingstown Board of Tax Assessors, the SK Tax Assessor's Assessment Board of Review and the SK Zoning Board of Review. He retired in 2012 at the age of 93 and was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the SK Town Council for his 51 years of dedicated service. He served as the Treasurer of the Green Hill Beach Club for thirty-five years. Tech Sgt. Bernard Poppe served honorably in the Army Air Corps for four years during WWII and was trained as a C-47 cargo plane mechanic and was stationed in the Aleutian Islands for two of those years He enjoyed his military years and experiences in Alaska. He raised his American flag everyday without fail. For leisure time he was an avid reader, loved to plant a variety of Dahlias in his garden each year, catch and eat the shellfish and smoke eels from Green Hill Pond. He loved to play Scrabble and Monopoly with his siblings and grandchildren and also later became a computer whiz. He spent a lot of time tracing his Dutch ancestry with his brothers and passed on a myriad of informational stories about the history of South Kingstown and the Southern RI shore because he was part of it. The thing he loved to do the most was taking long Sunday drives with his wife, Carolyn, in their "1988 Chrysler Le Baron" silver convertible. He loved his home in Green Hill and was lucky enough to be surrounded by his parents, children and grandchildren for many years. He was loyal, kind, patient, courteous, positive, humorous, humble and generous with his time and talents to all his neighbors, friends and especially his children, grandchildren and extended family. He was a true "Gentleman" in every sense of the word. He will be missed by all those who knew and loved him in his long life that was "well lived". He was one of a kind and all of Green Hill will miss one of its oldest and admired neighbors. Bernard Poppe leaves two daughters, Cheryl A. Briggs of Green Hill and Susan E. Poppe from Westerly and son, Ronald W. Poppe of Green Hill. He also leaves two brothers, William Poppe and Norman Poppe and wife, Hilda. He was predeceased by his sister, Margaret (Poppe) Paul. He leaves five grandchildren, Michelle Young and husband Wayne, Michael Briggs and wife, Tammy, Evan W.Poppe, Alec Poppe Wilhere and the late Ryan Poppe Wilhere, formerly of Green Hill. He leaves six great-grandchildren, Danielle, Alexandra, Gailyn, Brendan, Kylie and Jaxson. He leaves behind thirteen nieces and nephews. Visiting hours will be in the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia Street, Wakefield, Saturday, 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m. Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Wakefield. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity.