Nancy Green Poole

Nancy Green Poole went to be with her Lord on July 2, 2022.  Born into a military family December 8, 1928 in Charleston, SC, she spent her childhood in Savannah, GA.  She attended Howard College (now Samford University) studying voice and music theory. She remained in Birmingham working as a school teacher and raising her 5 sons, one of whom was cognitively disabled. When Nancy discovered the utter lack of services provided to children with special needs and the aberrant living conditions in facilities that housed them, she resolved to be a champion of change.  Eventually, she was elected president of the ARC (Association of Retarded Children). Two Significant events occurred under her watch. First, having recognized that children with special needs grow up to be adults with special needs, she initiated the process which resulted in changing the C in ARC from Children to Citizens greatly expanding the breadth of services provided. Second, she cajoled and badgered the Alabama legislature and governor’s office until they enacted the law that would become the foundation of Special Education in the state. It is because of her efforts that children with physical and mental disabilities have educational opportunities in every public school.

Nancy was a member of Mountain Brook Baptist Church loudly singing in the choir and teaching Sunday School. She was preceded in death by her sister Betty and her brother Sonny. She is survived by her sister Pat, her sons George, Seth (Paula), Laine (Susan), Alan, and Bryant (Kimberly) and her grandchildren Weston, Emily, Sam, Evan, Andrew, and Barrett. Nancy was a most formidable woman, willful, stubborn, fierce but always tried to act in a way that glorified God and honored her family.  She will be sorely missed. The service celebrating her life will be at Mountain Brook Baptist Church Saturday, July 9 at 11:00 AM with family receiving friends at 10:00 AM.