Dear Soffie,

Ellen and I are so sad to hear about the death of Beni. What a fine person he was and also a great husband to you and father and grandfather to your children and grandchildren. We will cherish the times that we spent with him and with you. You and your family must have many happy memories of times together with Beni and we hope that helps in these days. Our prayers and thoughts are with you.

We have also sent a letter to you but wanted to express our sympathies to you as soon as we could.

Sincerely,

Scott and Ellen

Dear Soffie,

We were surprised and deeply saddened by the news of Beni’s passing, for we were unaware that he was having any medical difficulties recently .
Beni was truly a most valued friend and associate for over 43 years. Even though recently our meetings were few and fleeting, Joanna and I always relished and looked forward to these visits and your warm hospitality. It revived our fond memories of the early days at Malili with you and other PTInco pioneers. This introduction to Indonesia, in which Beni and you Soffie were always so supportive, was a most exciting time in our lives, one that we cherish forever. 

Along with many other Inco expats who had the privilege and pleasure of working/living alongside you in Indonesia, we want to convey our most sincere condolences to all your family members in the hopes that this will help to alleviate your grief. Audrey Michener in particular asked to be mentioned in our message to you.
We’ve been unable to reach you by phone using the three numbers we were provided by email, but will try again.  Joanna is also mailing you a sympathy card . In sorrow, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

 Joanna and Henry Harju

Dearest Soffie,

Phil and I are devastated to hear from Chris and Lindsay about your terrible loss.  Beni was one of the finest men we knew, he stood for all that was good and worked hard to make the world a better place. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew  him, a truly outstanding and inspiring man and a wonderful husband, father and friend.

Phil joins me in sending you and your family our deepest sympathy.  We shall be thinking about you and hoping to be able to offer some  comfort.

With much love,

Phil and Helen Jessup

Dear Soffie,

It was with deep sadness that I learned of Beni’s passing. I have nothing but good and fond memories of the many personal and business associations and projects that we shared, i.e., worked on. And Soffie, you were always an important and helpful, honest, loyal advisor/consultant particularly on societal/people/community /governmenal and in some cases even on business matters. Both Beni and you contributed enormously to the development and eventual success of PT Inco.

As a practising geologist and subsequently as a PT Inco executive, Beni exhibited mature, honest and sound opinions that were in the best interests of both Inco and PTInco. (I recall the incident of Beni filing his income tax return one year, , to find that he was the highest tax-paying citizen in Sulawesi—the fact of the matter was that he was the most honest). And you Soffie, were undoubtedly involved with many of the business matters that Beni was responsible for  as an “Inco” representative. You were both very much “Inco” people.

And Soffie, you were very helpful to me, personally, in advising me on the personal problems encountered by and/or created by the X-pats. In seeking the best solutions I knew that i could count on you, even in the most confidential situations. Your devotion to “Inco” was an inspiration to me. I look forward to the time(s) that our roads will cross again.

I know that Beni will be greatly missed by you and the rest of your Family; but rest assured that he will also be missed and remembered by so many of his friends and past associates such as myself.

 With fondest respect and love,

 Walter

Dear Soffie,

It is with great sadness and shock that we heard about Beni’s passing away. It is like passing away of your older brother. We will feel this for a very long time. Beni was a unique person. He was iconic for P.T. Inco, being a member of the Pioneer Group, iconic to Inco and to Indodesia where he served as the Chairman of IMA for many years. He is going to be missed by many.

We always thought of Beni and Soffie together- I think we will continue to think that way since Beni is always “dekat di hati”. We understand your loss and wish we were there to console you in our small way. But we will keep in touch. We are happy that you have such a wonderful family to fall back on and grandchildren.

Since Beni’s passing away, I received many phone calls from ex-Inco people. The news of his passing away has spread very fast. I have talked to Scott Hand, Walter Curlook, Jim Guiry and Bill Clement. Many of the people here would like to do something in Beni’s memory but would like to know what would be appropriate. If there is a charity or organization(s) in Indonesia that could be helped, we can collect some donations in Beni’s name and forward it to you. Let me know, when things have settled down a bit.

We are very happy that Beni and you were able to come to Canada a couple of years ago and meet with your old friends and acquaintances. It was good that Beni and you could attend the Quarter Century Dinner and Beni was able to address the members of the Club. We have the photos of your visit as memories of our good times. We have thinking about all of our times together in the last few days.

At this time please accept our heart-felt condolences. Please pass on our condolences to all of the family.

Regards,

Ashok and Nima

Dear Soffie,

Barbara and I were very sorry to hear of the passing of Beni. We hope and pray that you and your family can bear this tremendous loss in your life. I believe that the strength of character and fortitude with which you are blessed will be a great help to you.

You and Beni were of so much assistance to us as we tried to survive in our new home there. Beni was unique in his understanding of what I needed to know to interrelate with the many different people in Indonesia. He had an instinctive and practical approach to the personalities in Government; from the Presidents Palace, through the Offices of the Ministers, to the Provincial Governors, Bupatis and Camats. His contacts were unmatched and his guidance, through difficult situations, was precious to me.

His business and professional career must stand out among his peers in Indonesia and throughout the Inco world. But of more importance to me was his warm personal friendliness and loyal helpfulness in my uncertainties at PT Inco. You and Beni – and your father, Soffie – did your best to get me to understand the ” Indonesian way of things “. Beni could always tell me a story illustrating a pertinent lesson in cultural relations and nudging me in the right direction. His quiet, experienced confidence invariably led us to productive results. I remember well his charitable humour and his constant regard for the best qualities in people we met.

I worked closely with Beni over the last twenty years of my time at Inco and it is now almost twenty years since I retired.

Beni remains at the top of the pyramid of remarkable people I have known. And you, Soffie, were the magic strength and support that buoyed Beni to those heights.

With sadness at the end of a magnificent Life.

Yours truly,

Jim Guiry

Dear Soffie

Andree and I and Michelle and Allan send our deepest condolences at your loss. We learned from Sinta and Nina of the passing of Pak Beni. I contacted several people in Canada who may not have been aware. We are in Florida and did not have your home number or email with us.

Such a loss for you and your family. Such a loss to all of his friends and colleagues. Pak Beni was a true inspiration to me and a good friend who helped me to understand and to work with success amongst the complexities of the cultures throughout Indonesia in our days at PTI and Ingold. I shared with Pak Beni his sense of eternal optimism in his dear country even during the difficult times. Patience, honesty, integrity, humour and a balance of work and family life were some of the highlights I remember of Pak Beni. I also remember his pride for being the first professional in the mining industry to be given an international award by the environmental group The Nature Conservancy – justly deserved.

We hope in the coming days your friends and family can provide you the comfort in this time of grief. Our thoughts are with you.

With love and sympathy for the loss of a dearly loved pioneer.

Bob and Andree

Dear Soffie,

We were so very sorry and deeply saddened to learn from Kemal of Beni’s passing. He was a highly principled, dedicated and warm-hearted person and will be greatly missed by all those whose lives he enriched. His integrity, honesty, dignity and patience, deep-felt concern for people, and his loyalty to friends and colleagues set him apart from others.

I am reading tonight a 1998 article about him that I have saved for many years, “A Pioneer of the Soroako Nickel Mines”, that describes Beni’s contribution to his country and his countrymen; it brings back so many memories of receiving his wise advice and insights that greatly affected my life as it did the lives of so many. He was a teacher, a friend, a person deserving of the very high respect with which he was held by Canadians and Indonesians alike. It is an honour to have known him.

Please accept our most sincere and heartfelt condolences and our love to you and all your family,

Lindsay and Chris