| Rudie Sypkes | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
Rudie Sypkes (May 1950 in Wildervank, Holland – 8 February 2008) was an Australian businessman from Tasmania. Sypkes was the co-founder of the Chickenfeed retail chain.[1]
Sypkes was born in Tasmania to immigrant parents from the Netherlands.[1] He began his business career by helping his father, Engel, found the Purity supermarket chain.[1] 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.[1] Sypkes often quietly contributed to philanthropic causes throughout Tasmania using his personal fortune.[2]
Sypkes revealed in July 2007 that he had been disgnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and donated A$600,000 towards research into respiratory disease.[1] Sypkes died suddenly and unexpectedly at a hospital in Tasmania on 8 February 2008.[1] He had been on a waiting list for a lung transplant for nine months.[1] He was survived by his wife, Beth, and three children, Andrew, Sharon and Luke.[1]