Burial Service
Obituary
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 every
need. 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 family
which he has irrevocably shaped. Those whose lives may carry on without him in person, but
always with him in spirit and memory.