It is with great sadness the family of Raymond Robin Cope announced his passing on February 10, 2022. He was 91.
Cope, who served as president of the Ontario Trucking Association during the 1980s, is survived by, and will be dearly missed by: his wife and soulmate of 67 years, Mary “Mae” Margaret Anne Cope; and his children Roy Douglas Cope, and Margaret Elaine Cope-Kight and son-in-law Dave Kight. He was predeceased by his son Robert Walter Cope, and his grandson Michael Roy Cope. He will be sadly missed by his grandchildren Adam Kight and Mary Kight Castillo (Yefry); and great-granddaughter April Castillo. He will be dearly missed by his daughter-in-law Debbie Cope (Robert).
He was a talented mathematician, which led him to study engineering. He attended the University of British Columbia on an Academic Scholarship. In 1953, he earned a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A. Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering; and in 1959, a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A. Sc.) in Mathematics. He also studied at Concordia University and McGill University. His studies led him to a long and distinguished career in the Transportation sector; he was a highly respected businessman.
In 1953, he began working for the Canadian National Railway; he was focused in Hotel Engineering and Maintenance (1954 to 1959). Beginning in 1959, he began work with the Canadian Government, holding several high level government positions over the years; which included Director of Transport Policy for the Department of Transport; and Commissioner and Vice President of Research for the Canadian Transport Commission. In 1975, he joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA); as a result he relocated his family to Geneva, Switzerland. While at IATA, he held the position of Director of Research for Industry Finance; he was later promoted to Assistant Director General for Industry Finance; and followed by a subsequent promotion to the Assistant Director General for Traffic and Industry Finance. He resigned from IATA in 1983, and returned to Toronto, ON; where he was named President of the Ontario Trucking Association.
His favorite pastimes included golf, chess, travelling the world with the love of his life Mae, and enjoying American football. He was a highly ranked chess player, and a member of the National Golf Club in Ontario. In his youth, he attended both elementary and high school in the Vancouver, BC, area. Raymond’s family and friends will remember him as a man with great inner strength, and grace; a true gentleman loved and respected by all. He was a caring and giving person with exquisite taste and style. He made life for his family, an adventure full of love, laughter, and learning.
The family will hold a private service, and interment will take place later this spring. It is requested that, in lieu of floral tributes, friends and family make a contribution to a charity or charities of their choice in Raymond Cope’s memory.