We are sad to announce the passing of Tony Copping, beloved friend to so many.
Tony was born in Horsforth, West Yorkshire, England. He immigrated with his family to Toronto, Canada at the age of thirteen. He was a Cadet with the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto in 1962.
Tony started his long and varied career in Information Technology (IT) in Toronto, with IBM and with the Metropolitan Toronto Police Department, where he installed the first computing system in Canada dedicated to law enforcement. In 1970 he moved to Victoria, where he worked with Computing and Systems Services at the University of Victoria, and TLD Information Technology Specialists, before starting Quilchena Consulting. Tony developed large-scale food production software which was marketed in Canada, the US and Germany, and managed IT projects in a broad range of areas, including education, human resources, finance, small business and correctional systems.
In 1984, Tony married his true love, Mary Ann Murphy. They enjoyed a long life of shared interests in books, music, friends, art, walking, nature and travel to Hawaii, Russia, the Baltics, Portugal and Italy, until Mary Ann’s sudden death in 2017.
Tony pursued with great enthusiasm a wide variety of sporting, intellectual, social and travel interests throughout his life, and made fast friends in everyone. His passion for sports included sailing, windsurfing, squash, skiing, kayaking, cycling, pickleball, yoga, pilates and strength training. Unsurprisingly, Tony discovered he was a “natural” when he learned to play golf in recent years.
Tony loved to dance – ballroom, contra, line dancing, salsa and square dancing. There was many a ukulele and guitar class made livelier by Tony’s participation. He welcomed opportunities to make new friends and have a good discussion and debate on a wide range of topics, all with a generous sprinkling of his wry humour. He was an active member of two Probus clubs, a book club, the Canadian Club of Victoria, and the Victoria Gyro Club.
As a dedicated member of the sea kayaking community, Tony helped to establish the inclusive non-profit club, SISKA (the South Island Sea Kayaking Association), in 2008, to nurture and support the sport through education and safety initiatives and the creation of paddling opportunities. Tony was very active in the formative years of the BC Marine Trails Network Association, which was founded in 2008 to expand marine and recreational access points along the BC coast and to undertake environmental stewardship projects.
Tony’s curiosity and sense of fun and adventure led him on travels across the country and around the world with friends, visiting many countries across Central and South America, Africa and Europe.
He was predeceased by his brother Stephen (1967), his parents, Harry Copping (1977) and Olive Ethel (Kerr) Copping (1993), and his sister Gwen Rodger (2016).
Tony passed away from pancreatic cancer quickly and peacefully, with good friends by his side. Many thanks to staff of the Royal Jubilee Hospital Emergency Room for their professional and compassionate care.
A Celebration of Tony’s Life will be held on Wednesday, November 5 at 2:00pm in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive, Victoria. In lieu of cards or flowers, please consider making a donation in Tony’s memory to The Victoria Hospitals Foundation and/or The Nature Trust of British Columbia.
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Fred Pishalski
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Norm and Joanne Wiens We knew Tony briefly having only met him last year after moving from Vancouver to Oak Bay. We met him at the Windsor Cafe while on a bike ride. He was so friendly and helpful with the local bike trails and bike ‘hot spots’. That was the beginning of our friendship where we shared lunch and then a great ocean side ride. We really appreciated his friendship and will miss him.
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lynn baier I spent many hours on the water and kayak camping with Tony. He was a great conversationalist and had a wicked sense of humour. He gave freely of his time to volunteer and was kind to all. He will be missed.
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Clair Wakefield My wife Carol and I got to know Tony when he moved in next door to us on Dewdney Ave. in north Oak Bay some years ago. He was a great neighbour – always cheerful, engaging and helpful – I miss our front yard chats.
Clair Wakefield
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Jonathan Lomas A gentle man as well as a gentleman. We’ll miss you Tony, on the water in the kayak and through the books at Hops ‘n Scotch. You leave behind some lovely memories.
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Tom Croft Tony was a good friend to many, a leader in his chosen profession, a husband to the environment, an enthusiastic sportsman and best of all he was a gentleman. I will miss him!
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Whitney Laughlin A lovely person on so many levels. I had known Tony threw some of his mini activities for 20 years. A true friend indeed, and we will all miss him so much.
I knew Tony from my involvement with SISKA and we worked on a couple of small projects together. I followed him into BC Marine Trails after he left. I liked Tony as he was a considerate and kind person. Tony, your are missed.