Harold Hope ’63 built a successful career in the medical field but even more so than that, he built a life devoted to service as a compassionate healer.

A retired general surgeon, Hope practiced mainly in Charlotte, NC, with other stops in Union and Spartanburg. But it is the work he has done voluntarily that sets him above most physicians. On trips around the globe –  to Haiti, South America, the Middle East,  and Africa – Hope’s skilled hands have been guided by a powerful faith and an unerring

mission to serve the “least of these.”

Hope met his partner in life and mission at a church in Atlanta while he conducted his residency at Emory University Hospital during the late 1960s. He and Jane,  a third-grade teacher, wed in 1970 and later moved to Charlotte, where they were active members of First Presbyterian Church and Harold served as both an elder and Sunday school teacher. Jane Hope also turned her faith into action by helping found an area school for homeless children.

The Hopes credit their Christian values for their work in communities around the world and Harold Hope adds a measure of credit for his alma mater.

“PC is so wonderful to me,” he said. “… (The College) really gave us a good basis for doing what we do. Service has been the motto and it has been our motto, too.” A former PC trustee, Harold and Jane created the Harold Hope Jr. ’63 Family Scholarship Endowment in 2020 and continue to keep the College close to their hearts. Harold’s brother, Robert, is a 1969 graduate of PC, while his brother-in-law, Charlie Jordan, graduated from PC in 1965.