Rudie Sypkes
Encyclopedia
Rudie Sypkes was an Australia
n businessman from Tasmania
. Sypkes was the co-founder of the Chickenfeed
retail chain.
Sypkes was born in Tasmania to immigrant parents from the Netherlands
. He began his business career by helping his father, Engel
, found the Purity
supermarket
chain. Sypkes later founded, with his brother, Peter launched the Chickenfeed Bargain Stores, a chain of discount retail stores
located throughout Tasmania. They sold the Chickenfeed chain in 2001 for an estimated $35 million Australian dollars. Sypkes often quietly contributed to philanthropic causes throughout Tasmania using his personal fortune
.
Sypkes revealed in July 2007 that he had been disgnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
and donated towards research
into respiratory disease
. Sypkes died suddenly and unexpectedly at a hospital
in Tasmania on 8 February 2008. He had been on a waiting list for a lung transplant for nine months. He was survived by his wife, Beth, and three children, Andrew, Sharon and Luke.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n businessman from Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. Sypkes was the co-founder of the Chickenfeed
Chickenfeed
Chickenfeed is a crime novella by English writer Minette Walters, published as part of the "Quick Reads", designed to promote literacy through short, simply written and fast moving stories.-Synopsis:...
retail chain.
Sypkes was born in Tasmania to immigrant parents from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He began his business career by helping his father, Engel
Engel Sypkes
Engel Sypkes was an Australian businessman from the Netherlands who migrated to Tasmania in 1951.In 1951, Engel, his wife Ann and their three children migrated from Holland amid new threats of war in Europe....
, found the Purity
Woolworths Limited
Woolworths Limited is a major Australian company with extensive retail interest throughout Australia and New Zealand. It is the:* largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand by market capitalisation and sales...
supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
chain. Sypkes later founded, with his brother, Peter launched the Chickenfeed Bargain Stores, a chain of discount retail stores
Discount store
A discount store is a type of department store, which sells products at prices lower than those asked by traditional retail outlets. Most discount department stores offer a wide assortment of goods; others specialize in such merchandise as jewelry, electronic equipment, or electrical appliances...
located throughout Tasmania. They sold the Chickenfeed chain in 2001 for an estimated $35 million Australian dollars. Sypkes often quietly contributed to philanthropic causes throughout Tasmania using his personal fortune
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
.
Sypkes revealed in July 2007 that he had been disgnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic, progressive form of lung disease characterized by fibrosis of the supporting framework of the lungs...
and donated towards research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
into respiratory disease
Respiratory disease
Respiratory disease is a medical term that encompasses pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange possible in higher organisms, and includes conditions of the upper respiratory tract, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura and pleural cavity, and the...
. Sypkes died suddenly and unexpectedly at a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in Tasmania on 8 February 2008. He had been on a waiting list for a lung transplant for nine months. He was survived by his wife, Beth, and three children, Andrew, Sharon and Luke.