Pauline Le Pore, a most extraordinary women, passed away peacefully on April 4th, 2026, just six months shy of her 100th birthday. She lived a remarkable, purpose-driven life, both personally and professionally, but it was in her role as wife to her husband of 70 years, Vincent J. Le Pore, Jr., and as a mother to her three children, Leslie Freytag of Wenatchee, WA; Vincent J. Le Pore III of Corona del Mar, CA; and Elizabeth Smith of Seattle, WA, that she found the most joy.

 Pauline was born in 1926 at Walter Reed Army Hospital to Ida Beryl and Iverson Brooks Summers, a Westpoint graduate and colonel in the Army. Her early, itinerant life on military bases taught her discipline and mental fortitude. She stood out from a young age for her intelligence and poise. She graduated high school at 16 and enrolled at Ward Belmont College. In 1944, she was invited to compete in a national contest sponsored by Nelson Rockefeller on U.S.-Latin American relations, which she won. She had tea with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt before embarking for Mexico as one of the first foreign exchange students. She contracted polio in Cuernavaca and endured an 867-mile drive by ambulance to the border and a flight to Chicago aboard a C-47. Eight months later, she walked out of the hospital determined that polio would never restrict her in life.

 She earned her B.S. in economics from Connecticut College in 1948. While there, she went on a blind date with Vincent, who was studying at Wesleyan University after serving during WWII with the Army’s Office for Strategic Services, the precursor to the C.I.A. They married in 1949 and settled in Covina, CA. She founded and ran two preschools. She was invited by Clarmont College to be part of its first master’s degree program on childhood education. She taught elementary school in the Pomona, CA district for 20 years.

 Polly and Vincent’s marriage was built on love and devotion to family. They instilled in their children strong ethics, academic excellence, an appreciation for art and culture. She was a lifelong student of history and voracious reader. She loved the ocean, swimming, and Bible study. She cherished the American story and could cite the date and location of every major Civil War battle. She had a profound reverence for democracy and believed every American should read the U.S. Constitution in order to safeguard our Republic. After retirement, she traveled extensively, visiting more than 15 countries. She and Vincent were in Brussels on 9/11.

 She had a radiant smile and an enthusiastic outlook on life that was driven by her deep Christian faith. She is survived by three children, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Polly’s meaningful life was and will continue to be an inspiration to all who knew her.

 A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on May 29th, 2026, at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Medford, OR, followed by a 2 p.m. burial at Eagle Point National Cemetery, where she will be laid to rest alongside Vincent, who died in 2018. Donations may be made to Rogue Valley Foundation, 1200 Mira Mar Ave., Medford, OR 97504, and St. Peter Lutheran Church, 1020 E. Main St., Medford, OR 97504.