OBITUARY: DENNIS SOPER
With the death of Dennis Soper on Tuesday, July 25, at the age of 84 Maitland has lost one of their well known sporting identities.
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Dennis,or “Den” as he was familiarly known, was involved in a number of sporting organisations, including cricket, athletics and bowls.
He started playing cricket in 1945 at the age of 12 with Vacy Cricket Club in the Dungog competition. After playing for Torryburn, another Dungog Club,he moved to the Maitland district where he played with various Clubs including Northern Districts, Black Hill, Largs, Eastern Suburbs and GUOOF-City.
Just as his wedding to his wife, Colleen,had to be arranged around milking times on the farm, much of his 27 years playing cricket also had to be slotted in around milking cows and other farm jobs.
A wrist injury led him to give up playing cricket and deciding to take up umpiring in 1972. When the wrist healed he went back to playing cricket and then returned to umpiring a year later.
This was to be the start of a long umpiring career that extended for almost forty years up until 2010 when health problems forced him reluctantly to retire from umpiring.
During those years he umpired over 400 senior Saturday afternoon competition matches, as well as numerous Sunday representative matches, including Hunter Valley John Bull Shield, Colts and junior matches.
A highlight of his umpiring career was during the 1980-81 season when he officiated as one of the umpires in a Testimonial Benefit match for Doug Walters at Bennett Park in Dungog - a match that included a number of prominent State players.
A particular delight of Dennis was umpiring mid-week school matches where his enthusiasm for the game and his interest in encouraging youngsters were clearly evident.
It would be hard to come across anyone who enjoyed umpiring quite as much as Dennis. If he had his way he would have been out on the cricket pitch umpiring seven days a week.
In a Mercury interview in 2005 he was quoted as saying: “When I go out I’m the 23rd man. I’m not here to upset anyone but rather to play along.When I’m umpiring I’m definitely playing the game.”
It was this outlook,matched with his genial,quiet manner,that earnt him the respect of the players that he umpired and won him many cricketing friends.
From 1979-84 Dennis was Vice-President of the Maitland Umpires Association and served as Secretary from 1985-90.In recognition of his long and valued services he was made a Life Member in 2000.
He was also a member of the Maitland Cricket Association’s Board of Control from 1983-86 and in his early years coached junior cricket teams from the YMCA and Eastern Suburbs in the Saturday morning competition.
In 2008 he was recognised by the Australian Cricket Board for “fifty years service to Australian cricket”.
In addition to cricket,Dennis was also very actively involved in athletics.For over forty years he spent countless hours at the Paul Critchley Sporting Complex (formerly Smyth Field) mowing grass and making running lines for the Maitland Little and Senior Athletics Club.
He and his wife,Colleen,were responsible for carrying out many improvements to the ground. In recognition of their efforts both were made Life Members of the Club and the new amenities block was named the Soper Pavilion in their honour.
Bowls was another of Dennis’s sporting interests. He was a regular bowler at Maitland Park Bowling Club and at the time of his death was in his 40th year as President and Secretary of Maitland Park Hunter Social Bowling Club.
In those roles,he was responsible for arranging numerous home and away social matches for the group and was recognised for his efforts by being made a life member.
All of these sporting commitments were testimony to the way in which his life was dedicated to helping others and to his willingness to give back to sport what he had got out of it.
Outside of sport Dennis was involved in the community transport program run by Maitland Community Care Services and also mowed lawns on a monthly basis for the Maitland/Rutherford Uniting Church.
For these community services and for his contribution to local sport Dennis was twice nominated for the Maitland City Council's Citizen of the Year awards.
He is survived by his wife Colleen, his two children Glenn and Debbie, and six grand children.