Robert Koopman

Robert Koopman took his final highway exit on October 23, 2026, after a relentless, nearly five-year battle with cancer. He was 67. Rumours that he simply chose to "beam up" to a new galaxy have not been officially denied.

Born in Saskatoon on April 3, 1959, to Harry and Elizabeth Koopman, Rob grew up in Colonsay, where he spent his early years learning the fine art of hard work by helping his family on the farm. Him and his siblings quickly expanded their operations to the broader community, by becoming the go-to kids for their neighbours by eagerly mowing lawns in the summer and clearing driveways and sidewalks during the grueling Saskatchewan winters.

Rob also spent his youth keeping incredibly busy on the ice, field, and track, playing nearly every sport available including hockey, curling, baseball, and track and field. He topped off his youthful athletic adventures by proving he could tolerate high-intensity collisions while playing football as a defensive lineman for the Saskatoon Hilltops. He peaked athletically in 1978, helping the Hilltops to win the Canadian Junior Football Championship, an achievement that eventually landed him a spot in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame-a fact he gently reminded his family of whenever an argument arose about who should take out the trash.

Following his football years, Rob transitioned into the workforce with a series of diverse roles. He spent time working at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club and also at an underground sprinkler business-proving early on that he could handle both the green grass and the complicated plumbing of Saskatchewan. From 1980 to 1988, he took his talents underground, working at the Cory potash mine.

Long before he embarked on his final career as a truck driver, Rob proved his ultimate devotion to his family by literally building the house that they still live in today-a true masterpiece constructed with his own two hands. Once the foundation was set, he spent his remaining career steering massive semi-trucks down the beautifully flat, endlessly thrilling, and entirely un-boring highways of Saskatchewan.

When he wasn't behind the wheel of a big rig, Rob could usually be found commanding the living room couch, completely absorbed in deep-space sci-fi shows like Star Trek, history documentaries, or whatever gold-standard educational programming was playing on the Smithsonian Channel.

His greatest logistical challenge, however, was the eternal maintenance of a notorious "lemon" of a family boat. Thankfully, Rob took a heavy-duty mechanics course in the early '90s, a skill he utilized to keep the machine running for their many family trips to the lake. Rob loved fishing, especially when casting a line with his daughter Christa-even if he had to quietly endure the fact that she consistently seemed to catch the most fish out of anyone on the water.

He possessed legendary patience, which was put to the ultimate test whenever his daughters tried to get up on water skis-even if they never quite managed to stay up for very long. He also found immense joy in taking his kids on wild inner tube rides, making it his personal mission to find the perfect angle to tip them over into the water.

Rob was a kind, caring, and profoundly loving father and husband who had given his family the world. He was completely devoted to his crew, spending 43 wonderful years married to the love of his life, Marge, and raising his two girls, Chantel and Christa, who meant everything to him.

Rob was predeceased by his mother Elizabeth (Pytlowany), his father Harry, and his brother Doug. He was also welcomed into the afterlife by many aunts, uncles, brothers-in-law, and half-sisters-in-law.

He leaves behind his beloved wife Marge; his daughters Chantel and Christa; his half-sister Joan (John) Cranch; and his half-brother Larry (Lynn) Koopman. He is also survived by sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law: Sarah (Jean Marc) Leblanc, Hannah (Lyle) Evanishin, Annette (Bill) Wall, Bertha Unruh, Dave (Martha) Unruh, and Doris Unruh; alongside many cousins, nieces, nephews, a home built on love, and a boat that is now officially someone else's problem.

As much as Rob absolutely loved visiting and spending time with the people he cared about, he strictly requested that there be no funeral service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you cheer on your favourite sports team, spend time with your family, take someone out on the lake next year for a wild tube ride, or donate to a charity of your choosing in his honour.