Robert Karl Kope

Robert “Rob” Karl Kope passed away the evening of Tuesday, October 6th, 2015. Rob was touring through the Central Valley of California on his motorcyclewhen he was taken from us. Rob was 53 years old.

Rob was born on Oct 15, 1961 in Texarkana, Texas. He was the second of three children and the only son of William “Bill” and Dorothy “Jo” Kope.

Robert attended school at Grim Elementary, Pine Street Junior High and Texas Senior High in Texarkana, TX. He also attended Tehran American School (TAS) in Tehran, Iran in 1972 and 1973. He was a member of the school band at Pine Street Junior High and played football at TAS. Robert took college courses through the Community College of the Air Force and University of Maryland Overseas Campus.

Rob was on the go from an early age. His favorite activity when he was a toddler was to climb the fence in the back yard and roam the neighborhood until one of the neighbors would bring him home or sooner if his big sister tattled on him. All it would take was one of his smiles and all would be forgiven. When he smiled, his eyes always twinkled.

Rob loved his entire family and was especially partial to his Granny Dee, whom he loved as a second mother. He spent many hours at her house listening to her stories, eating meals, mowing her lawn and telling her of his adventures.

Being one of only four male cousins in a group of nineteen, Rob, Michael, Ken and Jim were very close. You could always count on them to be making mischief. More than once they got in to trouble for one reason or another; teasing the girls, fire cracker escapades and other childhood pranks.

In elementary and junior high school Rob was drawn to activities that kept him moving. He entertained us with his bike and skate board tricks. It delighted him to show them off as much as they delighted us. And yes, they sometimes ended with a trip to the hospital for stitches. There were many summer days where Rob would disappear on his bike or skate board with friends for a ride around town, sometimes leaving right after the sun came up and returning only when it was too dark to see.

As a youth, Rob spent quite a few summers fishing and water skiing on the family boat. The family would go camping at Lake Elliott and Rob really enjoyed it there. Those days were the leisurely days of childhood. He would hike the entire day with his sisters enjoying all the things boys like such as finding a snake, collecting bugs, watching the deer or chasing an armadillo. Spending time on the boat in the evenings with dad was special guy time. On occasion, Rob would stop in for a visit with Game Warden Roach who told Rob stories about his adventures in the great outdoors. Those stories cemented feelings Rob already had for the beauty in nature.

Rob was a Boy Scout for over 10 years, becoming Patrol Leader and rising to the Life rank. Church and faith were important to Rob. Growing up, he attended First Lutheran Church in Texarkana, Texas where he was confirmed by Reverend Robert Helberg in 1974 and became an active member of the youth group and church family there.

In high school, Rob moved up from manual vehicles to motorized vehicles, purchasing his first car with money he had been saving from his part-time jobs. It was a 1961 Corvair and needed lots of work, but Rob looked at it as a project to keep him busy. Two years later he purchased his first motorcycle and from then on the motorcycle was Rob’s preferred mode of transportation.

On August 1, 1980, Rob joined the U.S. Air Force as an Aircraft Environmental Systems Mechanic. He spent five years in the service working on the life support systems of the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules and the Lockheed Martin C-141 Starlifter transport planes. His military tours spanned the globe and included Little Rock AFB, AR, Charleston AFB, SC, Soto Cano AB in Honduras, RAF Lakenheath in Great Britain and Hahn AFB in Germany.

In 1985 after Rob was honorably discharged from the Air Force, he moved to Alexandria, VA and completed training in both HVAC System Maintenance and Electrical Engineering, which led him to a career that spanned the next 28 years of his life. It began in 1987 with CarrAmerica in DC. When CARR transferred him to their San Francisco office in early 1995, Rob fell in love with California. He left CARR a few years later and took a position with VeriSign, Inc in Mountain View, CA as a Data Systems Infrastructure Manager. After VeriSign, Inc, Rob worked with a contracting firm, managing the Infrastructure for a fortune 500 company. In 2013, Rob took a short sabbatical and spent a great deal of time with his parents. Rob continued his engineering career after his sabbatical with Digital Realty.

During his sabbatical, Rob took the opportunity to make cross-country trips on his motorcycle to and from his home in San Francisco, CA to his parent’s home in South Carolina. This allowed him the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful landscape that is our country and to visit with family members or old friends he hadn’t seen in years along the way. The ride was never long for Rob, but a way to relax and enjoy life.

During his time in California, Rob was able to relax more and took pleasure in riding motorcycles all along the west coast, seeing and feeling the beauty of everything around him. With friends or alone, Rob loved taking back roads that led him to spectacular views. He would memorialize his rides taking lovely photographs to share with his family and friends. To Rob, God was not found inside a building. He believed God surrounded us every day. His church was the sunlight on the water or the breeze through the trees. He saw God on an early morning ride looking out at the Tetons or the whales swimming off the Pacific Coast highway.

Rob also took the opportunity of a more relaxed lifestyle to tap into his musical talents again, teaching himself the guitar, bass, ukulele, and drums. Rob especially loved live music and ventured out often to hear professional groups and amateur groups alike. He was an enthusiastic supporter of symphony orchestras and loved listening to his cherished partner play violin. Rob was also an avid collector of vinyl records. His collection was in the thousands. He had his favorites, but enjoyed all genre of music and had original albums ranging from classical to hard rock.

A perfect complement to his intense love of music was his fascination with the equipment that brought it to life. Rob was a true audiophile. Old stereos, tube amplifiers, and speakers were stacked high in his garage waiting for the day when he had time to indulge himself in the project. He would often say “I can fix anything” and that was an understatement. He would make new cables, buy new tubes, and solder broken wires, whatever it took to bring the equipment back to its former glory.

Another of Rob’s favorite activities was an early morning trip to the San Francisco flea market to browse the stacks of vinyl and other rarities to look for something to add to one of his collections. He was often amused by the things he would come across on his treasure hunts and could tell a good story about his adventures looking through piles and piles of junk to find that one special piece.

If you were in need, Rob was the first to offer help. He didn’t see problems, but solutions. Everyone who met Rob knew he could be counted on to do the job right. Rob was loved and appreciated by his family and many friends.

Robert was met in heaven by his grandparents, Clay McAdoo Creekmore, Minnie Dee (Bentley) Creekmore, John Joseph Kope, Sr and Elizabeth “Elsie” (Tacina) Kope and also by his uncle, John Joseph Kope, Jr.

Robert is deeply loved and will be missed by many, but especially by his family which include his beloved Jill, his parents, Bill and Jo, his older sister, Michelle, her husband, Ken, their children, Jennifer and Sean and his younger sister, Stacy, along with many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Those who knew Rob will know that he would prefer that we remember how he lived and not how he was suddenly taken from us. He would give us that smile of his and say, “Carpe’ Diem. Have a great ride and I’ll be riding along with you.”

In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Rob’s name to:

California State Parks www.calparks.org - click on “How Can I Help” to give.

The ELDoNA Seminary.

Checks should be made payable to: Saint Ignatius Seminary.

In memo of check annotate: Rob Kope memorial

Mail to:

Rev. Michael Henson

ELDoNA Treasurer

1000 N. Park Ave

Herrin, IL 62948

The Winchester Orchestra of San Jose www.winchesterorchestra.com - click on donate