Tom Kopp

Beloved administrator dies in boating accident

By: Ben Herbst

Posted: 11/14/07

A boating accident on Great Pond in Belgrade, Maine resulted in the death of Senior Associate Dean of Admissions Tom Kopp, a beloved member of the College community, on Saturday, Nov. 10. Tom was 69. (Please see seperate article for remembrances from students, friends and staff.)

Tom was traveling on Great Pond with his son Michael in an aluminum boat from Jamaica Point to Chute's Island where the Kopps have a home. As the boat entered open water it encountered rough conditions from high winds and a wave either swamped or flipped the boat. Michael and his three sons swam to shore, but Tom was not with them.

The three children were wearing personal flotation devices; however, neither Tom nor Michael were.

On Chute's Island, Michael went to the home of neighbor and friend Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology Thomas Morrione, who called 911.

Morrione said the response time was "remarkable."

The Maine Warden Service responded and conducted a search using a plane, boats and a dive team, until dark Saturday, and recovered Tom's body around 10 a.m. Sunday, according to College Editor Stephen Collins, who spoke with Deputy Chief Warden Pat Dorian of the Warden Service. State Police and Warden officials were unavailable for comment Monday and Tuesday.

"Tom was such a presence here, not just among his admissions colleagues but among many different people in different groups," President William D. Adams said. "He has left a hole."

"He was an extremely loyal and hardworking friend and colleague, and I valued immensely his unfailingly good humor, good sense, and good advice," Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Parker Beverage, who worked with Tom for 23 years, said, adding that "Tom meant the world to me and my staff."

Tom first came to the College in 1978 as an assistant football coach, and went on to serve as head coach. In 1983 he moved to Admissions and "rose steadily through the ranks, finally serving as Senior Associate Dean of Admissions," Collins said; Tom served in that capacity for over a decade. "He was unfailingly upbeat," Collins said, adding that Tom was "known as a mentor to his junior colleagues on the admissions staff."

"Tom Kopp was the heart and soul of the Colby Admissions Office," Director of Admissions Steve Thomas said. "We are all now borrowing a bit of what Tom showed us in order to get through this difficult time."

Other staff members, throughout campus, remembered him fondly. "One of the kindest men I have ever met," Administrative Assistant in College Relations Jackie Tiner wrote to the Echo. "When he spoke to you, it made you feel like you were the only person in the room. That was achieved by his love of the individual," Allen LaPan, wrote. "Tom Kopp was just the BEST in so many ways: a wonderful family man, an enthusiastic supporter of Colby, an astute Admissions professional and above all else a genuinely nice person with a wonderful sense of humor," Special Assistant to the President for External Relations Janice Kassman said.

In e-mails to the Echo students and alumni-both Admissions volunteers and those who remembered Tom from when they applied to the College-overwhelmingly expressed their admiration for him. "If you were not smiling yourself, you could count on Tom to provide you with a reason to do so, through a joke, a story, or just a kind word. He was a wonderful person, and I will really miss him," Katy Bizier '08 wrote. Many students wrote that Kopp was among the first representatives of the College they ever met, and that "he communicated a love for Colby that was contagious," as Dori Smith '08 wrote. "Tom Kopp was the second person I ever met at Colby, and his passion and enthusiasm certainly played a role in my decision to attend Colby," Tom Testo '07 wrote.

Prior to coming to the College, Tom was a football coach at Avon High School, the University of Connecticut, and Dartmouth University. He played baseball in the 1959 College World Series with the UConn Huskies and later Minor League Baseball in the Minnesota Twins organization. In 1979 he was inducted into the Naugatuck Hall of Fame and he was an avid sportsman up until the time of his death.

Tom is survived by his wife Mimi, his sons Michael and Blaine, daughters Deige and Jessica, and his fourteen grandchildren.
"Tom was universally liked and respected by members of the admissions and counseling profession. One current manifestation of this is the incredible outpouring of sympathy that our office has received over the past couple of days in the form of floral bouquets, e-mail messages, phone calls, and handwritten notes from college admissions officers elsewhere and from high school guidance counselors. We even have heard from high school students with whom Tom recently met," Beverage said.

Adams alerted the College of the accident via e-mail Saturday evening, and then of Tom's death on Sunday. Flags were lowered on campus Monday, and a memorial service is planned for Friday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. in the Lorimer Chapel, followed by a reception and luncheon in the Parker-Reed room of the Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center.

In leiu of flowers and in honor of Tom's dedication to aiding underpriviledged kids and his love of the outdoors, his family asks that donations be made to:

The Tom Kopp Campership Fund
c/o Ken Walsh
Alfond Youth Center
Waterville, ME 04901