Deon Kopke

After settling in Canada Deon joined Specialty Technical Publishers (STP) in October 1998. He brought with him a great deal of energy and enthusiasm, and he rose quickly into a management position in the company. His legal background and corporate finance experience in South Africa was immediately evident, and his early task was to manage the relationship the company had developed with one of the “Big-five” international accounting firms. STP was the first outside publishing company to be entrusted to market a range of specialist accounting guide books and Deon managed the relationship with aplomb, enhancing the status of STP in the professional publishing field. He soon graduated to the position of Vice-president of Sales where he led a team of 75 sales people marketing a wide range of products: accounting, business law, and environmental health & safety compliance. While he managed his team with a firm hand he also showed a great deal of empathy and understanding: his sense of humour, sound sense of values, and ability to inspire and connect with people always shone through.

Upon the retirement of the founder of the company in 2011 Deon was the natural choice to take over as president and CEO. He had a vision for the transformation of the company into the field of electronic publishing and his many innovations were just beginning to gain traction when he died. His legacy and vision will be perpetuated by the strong management team that he had built around himself.

Deon believed that the reward of hard work was to have the time to enjoy social contact with his many friends. He had friends from all walks of life who would share his passion for good food, good wine, good books, good conversation, fine art, live music, and the many outdoor attractions that British Columbia has to offer. He was a keen golfer and treasured his annual spring-time golfing trips to the interior with his pals. He also enjoyed skiing, racket-ball, tennis, cycling, and kayaking. He had an uncanny knack for remembering historical facts, and would add value to conversations on any number of topics.

Perhaps the most defining quality about Deon was his pride in the way in which he had grown up: he came from a solid, stable, loving family and his adult persona was shaped very much by his years at school: he attended Graeme College in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. He spoke about his school days often and he recounted many fond stories of influential teachers, fellow pupils (especially the naughty ones), and the struggles and triumphs on the cricket, athletic, and rugby fields. It gave him immense pleasure and pride just recently to have written to his “old Graemian boys” about the memories that had been evoked on hearing the school hymn, O God our Help in Ages Past being performed at a church in San Francisco. Such was the universality of Deon’s presence. He will be missed by people from all over the globe who might have thought they had nothing in common – until they met Deon.

Deon is survived by his mother Anel Kopke, his sister Pier Beaumont, brother in law Stephen Beaumont and his two nieces Pippa and Cary-Ann. A celebration of his life will be held at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 1440 West 12th Street in Vancouver, at 2PM on Sunday 24th March, 2013.