Milton Costa Theo

Milton Costa Theo was born on June 9, 1945 in Johannesburg, South Africa as the third child, and second son, of Costa John Theo and Irene Theodora Loukidis. His two older siblings were Andrea and John, and his two younger siblings were Julia and Christopher. When he was ten years old, the Theo family moved from South Africa to Zimbabwe, which was, at the time, still the British colony of Rhodesia.

He attended the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce in 1967. Two years later in 1969, he received an LLB degree with honors from the University of London, having completed the three year course in two years with the honor of cum laude.

In 1970 he married Mary Catherine Macrides. Two years later in 1972, his first child Costa was born. Three years after that his second child Lara was born.

In terms of his notable career, from 1969 until 1976 he was a partner at Surgey Pittman and Kerswell, located in Harare, Zimbabwe. In 1978 he joined ACE (Liberia) Inc. in Athens as an Assistant to the Group Legal Adviser, and stayed in that position until 1980. During that time he was involved in negotiating one of the first agreements to allow a foreign airline (PAN-AM) to fly routes to and from Saudi Arabia. Thereafter, he went to work as an Associate at the M.H. Hoshan Law Office, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. During this period he represented and acted on behalf of international companies operating in Saudi Arabia, including EXXON, as well as several European banks and major international construction companies.

In 1984 his third child, Regina, was born. Amongst his achievements was the successful negotiation of a multi-billion dollar construction contract for a corporate client in 1987. Later, in 1993, he acted on behalf of the purchaser of a large European independent oil conglomerate. At the time, the transaction was considered to be one of the largest corporate sales to a single person in history, as well as one of the largest European oil deals in recent years.

In 1996, his fourth child Oriana was born. In 1999 his fifth child, Maximillian, was born. Apart from his work as lawyer, he also began investing in properties, and was a board member of various companies.

In 2007 he married Nikola Maurach.

Milton was also a prolific philanthropist. Throughout his life he supported many charities, especially ones for children. He was the primary donor to the Sparrow Rainbow Village, a NGO in South Africa, which was a hospice care center for children suffering from AIDS. Milton also supported the Christian Children’s Fund, a child-focused international development organization that provides assistance to children facing poverty and other challenges in 24 countries.Everyone who met Milton was awe-struck at his immense personality. His sharp wits, booming voice, and most of all his overflowing kindness made anyone he was talking to feel charmed and appreciated. His generosity truly knew now bounds. If you approached Milton with a problem you could be sure that he would work tirelessly to resolve it. From helping his children with a homework problem to making sure those close to him were taken care of in their everyneed. Most importantly his love and friendship were unconditional. He stuck by everyone he cared for through thick and thin. Milton’s discipline and tireless work-ethic was balanced out by a love for life which spread happiness everywhere he went.

The number of people who consider Milton as a role model is truly a testament to his character. Although he grew out of his extremely humble upbringing, Milton never once took his earned success for granted. This allowed him to value the truly important things in life over all else; his family and his friends. He will be remembered in the thousands of stories people tell about him. . In the legacies of his generosity which are spread around the globe. In the lives of his familywhich he has irrevocably shaped. Those whose lives may carry on without him in person, but always with him in spirit and memory.