David Kauffman
David “Doc” Kauffman, 92, passed away April 14, 2014, at Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation.
He was born to nna and N.L. “Roy” Kauffman in Creston in January 1922, the middle child of 15 children. He lived in Creston and attended a one-room schoolhouse through the eighth grade. He worked on the family farm, in the family sawmill and as a packer for the U.S. Forest Service until World War II.
During the war, Doc served his country as a conscientious objector in the Civilian Public Service program, taking care of the national parks, working as a smokejumper fighting fires in Idaho, and working on a cattle boat taking livestock to Poland.
Upon his return, he ended up in Virginia where he obtained his GED and attended Eastern Mennonite College in studies for pre-med.
He met his future wife Ruth at school, and they married in Akron, Pa. The newlyweds lived in Philadelphia where Doc completed his medical training at Hahnemann University Hospital in family practice. After a short, two-year surgical residency in Spokane, Doc and Ruth moved to Whitefish, where he practiced family medicine for more than 40 years.
Doc also served for more than 20 years as a lay minister for the Whitefish Christian Church. He performed marriages and funerals all over the Flathead Valley, including various locations in Glacier National Park and on horseback.
Among Doc’s passions were horses and hunting. Anyone who knew Doc surely heard of the hunting trips with his pack string into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. This yearly sojourn spawned many tall and interesting stories about hunting and those who accompanied him. His hunting trophies were proudly displayed in his home. Doc was also an active member of the Back Country Horseman of the Flathead.
Doc was preceded in death by his parents Anna and N.L. “Roy” Kauffman and 11 of his siblings.
He is survived by his wife, Ruth E. Kauffman, of Whitefish; two sisters, Gladys Reimer, of Whitewater, Kan., and Rosella Eby, of Drake, Saskatchewan; one brother, Joe Kauffman and wife Ruth, of Lebanon, Ore.; two sons, David Kauffman Jr. and wife Anita, of Whitefish, and Stephen Kauffman, of Yakima, Wash.; two daughters, Elizabeth Kauffman-Harmon and husband Stephen, of Wasilla, Alaska, and Rebecca Kauffman-Piotrowski and husband David, of Durango, Colo.; and six grandchildren.
A celebration of Doc’s life will take place at Whitefish Lutheran Church, in Whitefish, on Friday, April 25, 2014, at 2 p.m. An informal reception will follow services.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages a donation be made in Doc’s name to one of the following organizations: Mennonite Central Committee, 21 S. 12th St., P.O. Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500; Angel Tree Foundation/Prison Fellowship, P.O. Box 1550, Merrifield, VA 22116-1550, (800) 206-9764; Whitefish Food Bank, 311 First St., Whitefish MT 59937, (406) 862-5863; or Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011, (800) 272-3900.