Rudie Sypkes (20 May 1950 – 8 February 2008) was an Australian businessman from

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Sypkes was the co-founder of the

Chickenfeed Poultry feed is food for farm poultry, including chickens, ducks, geese and other domestic birds. Before the twentieth century, poultry were mostly kept on general farms, and foraged for much of their feed, eating insects, grain spilled by cattl ...

retail chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

Biography

Sypkes was born in Tasmania to immigrant parents from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He began his business career by helping his father, Engel, found the

Purity Purity may refer to: Books * ''Pureza'' (novel), a 1937 Brazilian novel by José Lins do Rego * ''Purity'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Jonathan Franzen ** ''Purity'' (TV series), a TV series based on the novel *''Purity'', a 2012 novel by Jackson P ...

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 Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...

. Sypkes revealed in July 2007 that he had been diagnosed with

idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), or (formerly) fibrosing alveolitis, is a rare, progressive illness of the respiratory system, characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue, associated with the formation of scar tissue. It is ...

and donated towards research into

respiratory disease Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathology, pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in Breathing, air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the t ...

. 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 and three children.

References

External links

Chickenfeed Bargain Stores
2008 deaths People from Tasmania Australian people of Dutch descent 1950 births 20th-century Australian philanthropists 20th-century Australian businesspeople Place of death missing {{Australia-business-bio-stub