Robert Y. Kopf, Jr. (1944 - 2024)

 

Our classmate Bob Kopf passed away the night of March 28. Bob came to Princeton from Warren, PA and attended the Loomis School in Windsor, CT. He majored in Politics and was a member of Cannon Club. Bob's wife Suze died two years ago. Memorial service information will be added to this page when it becomes available.

 

Bob's brother Silas is a member of the Class of 1972, and his father, a member of '36, starred on the championship football teams of that era.

 

Bob's service was held on Saturday, April 13 at Sewickley Presbyterian Church. The eulogy and photos are at the end of this Memorial Page.

 

Obituary Provided by Bob's Family

Robert Y. Kopf, Jr., age 80, passed away peacefully at home on March 29, 2024. Bob was the son of the late Robert Kopf and Jane (Walker) Kopf, born in Warren, Pennsylvania in 1944. Upon graduation from The Loomis School, he enrolled at Princeton University, where he met the love of his life, Susan Rowland, on a blind date through a mutual friend. It was love at first sight, as Bob proposed to Susie at the end of that first date. Upon graduating from Princeton in 1966, the two set off to Nashville, TN, where he attended Vanderbilt University Law School. A short three years later with law degree in hand, Bob and Susie set off for Pittsburgh where they raised their three children, and he began his law career at Rose, Schmidt, Dixon followed by Buchanan Ingersoll. Despite excelling in estates and trusts law, something was missing, and in 1996 he took an enormous personal and professional risk in founding Smithfield Trust Company, his career passion he pursued every day since. As much as Bob enjoyed Smithfield Trust, he treasured the camaraderie of his friends and family even more, which included tennis with his buddies both days over the weekend, summers at Rocky Point Inn in the Adirondack Mountains, annual father-son fishing trips in northern Quebec, and all four seasons in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he enjoyed hiking, horseshoes, skiing, and most of all throwing a fly into the Wood River for trout with Susie, who often times out fished him. All who knew him were keenly aware of his adoration of Winston Churchill, and his devotion to a suit and tie at work. Family members were always sure bring their grammatical A-games to all conversations with him, fearing a friendly correction mid-sentence. Bob had the most uncompromised set of ethics, was a lover of history and an avid reader, hoping to enlighten others by publishing book reviews written by anyone he knew in the Smithfield Forecast newsletter. His loyalty to his loves is unmatched, as he remained forever devoted to his alma maters, his Penguins and the “Battlers” (Pirates), and local clubs and organizations. Bob served as President of The Edgeworth Club, as well as the Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club, and served on the Boards of both Sewickley Academy and the Sewickley YMCA. Bob was preceded in death by Susie, his wife of 56 years, and is survived by his three children Rob (Martina), Tom (Celeste), and Maggie (Chris) Standish, 4 grandsons of whom he was always so boastful, R.Y. (Kirsten), Jarrod, Max, and Silas, and 2 brothers Will (Mary) and Silas (Linda).

 

A celebration of Bob’s life will occur on Saturday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m. at the Sewickley Presbyterian Church, 414 Grant Street, Sewickley, PA, followed by a reception at his residence. Excerpts from an oral tribute by Bob's son, Robert Yates Kopf, III are in the Memories and Tributes section below.

Nassau Herald

25th Reunion Book

After I left Vanderbilt Law School (which I liked, maybe more than Princeton) I came to a small law firm in Pittsburgh by the name of Rose Schmidt. My decision to come to Pittsburgh was influenced heavily by the stark reality that I had a wife and child to support and Pittsburgh offered me the only credible job offer. It somehow worked out very well. Along the way I had two more kids and several litters of puppies. My mid-life job crisis surfaced at age 40, and I changed law firms.
 
While I certainly had a great time at Princeton, I am happier and more focused now. As dull as it sounds, I can say without flinching that my focus is on family and friends. I have a great wife who has tolerated me for a quarter of a century, three neat kids with solid values, and friends for whom I’d kill.
 
At Princeton the outdoors meant little to me. Now, increasingly my free time is spent in Idaho, where the outdoor recreation recharges my batteries.
 
As a politics major (which, by the way, was a complete waste of time—I wish I had majored in history), I was a “ lone wolf’ conservative during my undergraduate years. While I remained a conservative, I am far less ideological and have adopted so-called “ liberal” views on social issues. I suppose this means that either my principles are a bit frayed around the edges or some needed pragmatism has seeped into my thinking.
 
It has been a good 25 years, and I look forward to seeing my classmates.

50th Reunion Book

Robert Y. Kopf, JR.
204 Edgeworth Ln., Sewickley, PA 15143
Spouse: Susan Rowland Kopf (Suze); BA, Pine Manor Junior College ’64
Children: Robert Y. Kopf III, 1966; Thomas R. Kopf, 1970; Margaret W. Kopf, 1973
Grandchildren: Robert Y. Kopf IV, 1993; Jerrod F. Kopf, 1995; Maxime E. Kopf, 2008; Silas O. Kopf, 2015
Graduate school: Vanderbilt Law School, JD, 1969 Community service: various nonprofit boards Activities: tennis, golf, fly fishing, reading, especially historical biographies
Princeton roommates: Tom Tomlin, Bob Clendenin, Larry Owen, Chuck Soponis, Mike Serwatka, Tom Benghauser, Ken Oboz
 
I left the practice of law 20 years ago to found Smithfield Trust Company in Pittsburgh. The practice of law is not missed, and I enjoy going to work. My wife, Susie, appreciates the fact that I am not home for lunch.
 
While I cherish my Princeton experience, I believe that I have avoided the curse of “living in the past.”
 
May my ’66 classmates be as lucky as I have been!

Memories and Tributes

Robert Yates Kopf, III. Excerpts from an oral tribute at the celebration of Bob's life:

In thinking about Dad and his 80 years on this earth, many things come to mind, but one theme across all of those decades for us who lived it with him…it was never boring. Woven through all of the places Dad was, and the people that my father encountered, was the common thread is that he enjoyed the company of others, had a good time with them, and loved to find a way to laugh, including at himself.
***
Going all of the way back to his days at Princeton, there are so many enjoyable stories that I heard about, especially Cannon Club stories, where he and mom spent plenty of time. But the fun at Princeton did not end upon graduation. Dad loved nothing more than going back to his Class of ’66 reunions, and in our younger years, taking the entire family there, getting all dressed up in the class garb, which entailed blue pinstriped engineer overalls and orange t-shirts underneath…and spending the weekend under the tent watching all of Mom’s and Dad’s friends get together as if it was still the mid-1960s.
***
Dad dearly loved his tennis. So, I can’t create a remembrance of him without mentioning his home tennis court, a focus of his activity from late Spring to mid Fall every year. Dad loved the Saturday and Sunday morning tennis at the house; it was his weekend bonding session with many of his close friends over the years. And oh, my goodness, they had tremendous fun together playing tennis….with relentless needling, chirping, harassing, and the winners gloating during and after the match. It was all good natured fun, but I have to tell you, at the end of every summer, his tennis partners and opponents had learned a much “broader,” “ mature” and “spirited” vocabulary.
***
Dad built his life around his family, friends, nature, and with work. I’ll let him speak for himself on this focus from an excerpt taken from his 25th Princeton Reunion Book. “As dull as it sounds, I can say without flinching that my focus is on family and friends. I have a great wife who has tolerated me for a quarter of a century, three neat kids with solid values and friends for whom I’d kill. At Princeton, the outdoors meant little to me. Now,  increasingly, my free time is spent in Idaho, where the outdoor recreation recharges my batteries.”
***
Dad died on Good Friday in the wee hours of the morning, so I could not help but think about the meaning of Easter weekend and his reunion with Mom. Maggie [Kopf K ‘66] and I chuckled together over the thought of Dad rejoining his dear, set in her ways, wife after her 26-month head start in heaven. We knew they were delighted to be reunited, but wondered how long it took Dad to do something to annoy Mom. I put the over/under at about 20-30 minutes.
***
Dad, The family is happy that you have reconnected with Mom and can live out eternity with her. Just don’t forget to brush, water, and roll the grass tennis court up there so it is ready for all of us when we arrive.

 

Bob Nahas:

I got to know Bob and Susie well at Cannon, and we stayed in touch over the years. He was fun and funny, often deliberately and sometimes you’d wonder where that came from. However, in those moments he could laugh at himself. This belied the fact that he was an extremely smart and successful businessman who grew and ran a trust company in Pittsburgh.
 
In the run-up to the 2016 election, we became part of a chat group of 6 classmates - 4 from Cannon. We were evenly split left and right and sometimes got under each other’s skin, but I could never get mad at Bob because I think he always had a twinkle in his eye no matter what he said.
 

Bob, we miss you.

 

Krist Jake:

Bob Kopf and I met sophomore year and we hit it off immediately. Along with Bert Lee we spent that spring break in Florida with a base at the family home. It was a memorable holiday.
 
Bob and I were Cannon Club members and with clubmates had many fine times together in the club’s Red Bar, Green Bar, etc. Susie, a blind date, girlfriend, and then wife, mother, and community volunteer for their 50+years together also enjoyed Cannon’s social events.
 

Bob was self-deprecating and had a unique view of the world and sense of humor. A native of Pittsburgh and son of a Princetonian, Bob was grounded in tradition. His objective outlook supported his well-developed world view.

 

In 1996 Bob left a comfortable law practice in a large Pittsburgh firm and founded the Smithfield Trust Company. Over the ensuing years he built Smithfield into a respected holistic provider of family office solutions in areas such as trust & fiduciary , investment management, tax & charitable planning , and estate administration . Bob served as its Chairman from the beginning until just a few years ago when he transitioned to Emeritus.
 
Bob loved Pittsburgh and its history. He was an avid reader of non-fiction and authored book reviews that were published by Smithfield along with those of staff members. His book reviews are uniquely informative and entertaining; they also provide a revelatory window into Bob’s distinctive personality and sense of humor.
 
A fun and fond memory I have of Bob is of an interaction that occurred on the dance floor at our 20th reunion. My guest and I found ourselves dancing near Bob and Susie; between songs and after a few words of introduction, Bob surprised everyone and ordered me to marry Laurie. Taking it one step further, he appointed himself the officiant and proceeded to perform an improvised ceremony then and there. (It was a lot of laughs at the time and we tied the knot five months later.)
 
Over the years Bob and I connected at Reunions, in his beloved Sun Valley, and more recently in Pittsburgh a couple of times and by phone. Visits with Bob were always too short but unusually refreshing.
 
Bob and Susie had 3 children all of whom continue to reside in the Pittsburgh area.

 

Marschall Smith:

I must confess that I first met Bob only a few years ago when Bob Nahas asked us both to join his internet political discussion group. I found him intelligent, balanced and engaging. But the deeper Bob Kopf was also visible. He loved our country and the process of democracy. He was a man deeply devoted to Susie and his family. He built a distinguished trust company with the same quiet competence and innate decency that he showed everyday.

 

Tom Tomlin:

Bob and I first met wrestling in 2 inches of beer in the Green bar at Cannon Club sophomore year. We became roommates; he was my best friend at Princeton. His laugh was infectious; he loved a good time, and there were so many. Everyone liked Bob, even some liberals over whose views he enjoyed engaging. It was my good fortune to introduce him to his wife Susi. What a couple they made! Miss them both very much.

 

Paul Stella:

Sad news. Bob was one of my roommates Soph year. Unfortunately, we went with different groups following that so I don't have photos or useful stories. We also lost R. Craig Johnson from that roommate group some years back.

 

If you have additional photos or memories that you wish to share, please send them to the '66 Memorial Team (66_MemorialTeam@tiger1966.org). We will add them to this page.

 

Memorial Service

Lauson Cashdollar and Ralph Davies represented '66 at the Bob's Memorial Service at the Sewickley Presbyterian Church. The first photo shows Lauson and Ralph with Bob's younger brother, Silas. All three wore a coat of many colors. Silas delivered the eulogy with many memories of Bob (click here).