Dean at Colby dies after boat capsizes

BELGRADE – Colby College was mourning the death of a 69-year-old administrator whose body was recovered from Great Pond the morning after his aluminum skiff capsized while on a camping trip with family members.

Thomas Kopp, senior associate dean of admissions, had worked at the liberal arts college in Waterville for nearly 30 years. He was hired as assistant football coach and was promoted to head coach before moving into the admissions department in 1983.

Colby College President William Adams said the campus community was stricken at the news of Kopp’s death.

“He was a wonderful, solid Colby citizen,” Adams said. “Tom was extraordinarily upbeat and we all understood his deep love for the college. He was a very great presence here.”

Kopp, his son Michael and his three grandsons, ages 14, 12 and 10, were on their annual November camping trip to an island on the lake where he had a vacation home when their boat capsized Saturday, said Lt. Pat Dorian of the Maine Warden Service.

“Their boat became overloaded and a wave came up and literally flipped the boat over,” Dorian said.

Michael Kopp of Rhode Island and the three children were able to make it to shore. They were taken to a hospital to be checked out for possible hypothermia. Divers recovered Thomas Kopp’s body Sunday in 10 feet of water.

Neither Thomas nor Michael Kopp was wearing a life jacket.

A Connecticut native who excelled in sports at Naugatuck High School, Thomas Kopp coached football at the University of Connecticut and Dartmouth College before coming to Colby, college spokesman Stephen Collins said.

Kopp was passionate about sports and was in “excellent shape for his age,” Collins said.

A memorial service will be held Friday at Colby’s Lorimer Chapel.