Ron Kop, age 63, of Delta, Colo., passed away peacefully on the morning of April 3 after a long battle with cancer. Ron was surrounded by his family at the time of his passing. Ron most recently had been a patient at Willow Tree Care Center, where he was visited daily by his family and dear friends. He so enjoyed and looked forward to these visits, and we want to extend our special thanks to all who either called Ron on the phone or came by to visit with him at Willow Tree.
Ron was born in Rotterdam, Holland, on April 25, 1950, to Teunis “Tony” and Hendrika “Henny” (Wijnands) Kop. Ron was 6 years old when his parents immigrated from Rotterdam, Holland, and came directly to Delta, arriving in the month of January 1957. Ron made this long journey from Holland to Delta with his parents, three brothers and three sisters. Another sister, Nellie, and brother, Michael, were born later in Delta.
Ron attended schools in Delta and Cedaredge. He also attended Mesa State College, where he majored in journalism. Ron’s first and foremost passion in life was writing. Ron worked for the Delta County Independent in the early years of his writing career. One of the highlights of his job working as a reporter for the Delta County Independent was to cover the story of President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, rafting and fishing along the Gunnison River near Pleasure Forks (Parks), located between Hotchkiss and Delta. Ron got to interview President Carter extensively that day. He was also the photographer on that story, so he took many photos of President and Mrs. Carter.
Besides his writing, Ron had two other great passions in life, one was the accumulation of artwork and the other was that he was an amateur archaeologist. Ron collected artwork for about 40 years and had quite a vast collection of beautiful artwork. Ron loved to explore all the canyons, mesas and plateaus located here on the Western Slope. He discovered many old archaeological sites. He was fascinated by all the petroglyphs we have in this area and intrigued by the unusual rock formations created by the Indians who inhabited this area so long ago.
Ron is survived by his two children, Peter Garrett (wife Allison), of Waco, Texas, and Callie Allard from New York, six grandchildren, and his seven remaining brothers and sisters, Dirk Kop, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Marcel Kop (wife Marsha) Montrose, Colo.; Henny Wiley (husband Bill) Montrose; Tony Kop (wife Shauna) Pagosa Springs; Carla Kop, Lakewood; Nellie Myers (husband Delbert), Delta; and Michael Kop (wife Natalie), Yellow Jacket, Colo. Also surviving is Ron’s best friend all throughout childhood and as adults, Dr. Dan Doyle. Ron is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Tony and Hendrika Kop, one infant brother, Alexander Kop, his sister, Letty Young, and his nephew, Michael Woodlee.
Cremation has taken place and a service for Ron is not planned at this time, but the scattering of ashes and celebration of Ron’s life will be announced and held later this spring or early summer.
Hospice and Palliative Care of Delta provided care for Ron during the last stages of his illness. If you choose to do so, a donation in memory of Ron may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Delta, P. O. Box 24, Delta, CO 81416.
