Beverly Kaufman: 1933-2022
Beverly Kaufman
A memorial service for Beverly Kaufman, 88, of Sioux Falls, S.D., will be held on Saturday, June 18 at 2 p.m. at Faith Baptist Fellowship in Sioux Falls. A private family burial will be in the Salem Mennonite Church Cemetery in rural Freeman, S.D.
Beverly A (Hansen) Kaufman, born to Junius and Ida Hansen on November 2, 1933, in Brookings County, S.D., passed away on June 4, 2022 at the Good Samaritan Village in Sioux Falls. Bev grew up on a farm near Hendricks, Minn., attended Country School through eighth grade and graduated from Hendricks High School in 1951. After graduation, she moved to Sioux Falls and worked at Sioux Valley Bank and later at Sioux Steel.
On September 25, 1954, Bev married Leslie Kaufman at Singsaas Lutheran Church near Astoria, S.D. After living briefly in Sioux Falls and on her family farm, the couple moved to Les’ hometown of Freeman, where they raised their children. While Bev and Les only had 35 years together before his death, the children remember the sweet affection they had for one another. Bev held a few different jobs in Freeman but was best known for the number of years she worked at First National Bank as a proof operator.
Mom and Dad enjoyed traveling and had special memories from their time in Switzerland and a trip shortly before Les’ death to Hawaii. In later years, she traveled much of the United States with her sister-in-law, Phyllis Kaufman. Mom loved to knit and was often seen with an afghan in process in her lap. She found great joy in giving away the finished projects and her grandchildren still treasure these gifts. She was an avid reader and was great at crossword puzzles. As an active member of the Salem Mennonite Church, she competently typed the bulletin for many years and with her gift of accounting later served as the missions treasurer. While very stoic in nature, mom always was a rock when times became troublesome and displayed deep faith in God’s sovereignty during those events.
Bev is survived by her children: Nancy (Terry) Schaefer, Susan (Rich) Oksol, Dennis (Mary) Kaufman and Linda (Matt) Schilling, all of Sioux Falls; by 10 grandchildren: Craig Schaefer, Erik (Anna) Schaefer, Laura (Kyle) McPhee, Amy (Christian) Hung, Sarah Oksol, Emily Kaufman (fiancé Griffin Smith), Ethan Schilling, Graham Kaufman, Ben Schilling and Jonah Schilling; and five great-grandchildren: Matthias, Isaiah, Josiah, Dakota and Ainsley. Bev is also survived by two sisters-in-law, Jean Unruh and Phyllis Kaufman as well as several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Leslie, son Gregory, great-grandson Elias, her parents, brother Gladwyn, and sisters Inez, Verona and Evenelle.
