Obituary of Palmer Samuel Kauffman

Palmer Samuel Kauffman, “Sam” of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado passed away on Monday, August 21 in Medicine Bow, Wyoming.  He was born in Paterson, New Jersey on January 1, 1952 to the late Ethel (Hassard) Kauffman and Palmer Sherwood Kauffman and grew up in North Haledon, New Jersey.  Sam served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and served with the Peace Corps in Kenya in the late 1970s. Sam was an adventurer with many interests and skills who brought exuberance, joy, and a sense of wonder to everything he did. He was a builder, contractor and land developer, an accomplished sailor, and a great storyteller. He loved travelling the open road on his motorcycle and quiet time at home with books. He was a fly fisherman and shotgunner. He could pilot a plane, change out engines, climb mountains, and dive in the ocean. His beloved life partner Suzie and beloved daughter Sarah were the crowning joys and loves of his very full life.

Surviving Sam are his daughter Sarah Hillis-Kauffman of Charleston, South Carolina and his life partner Suzanne P. Woodard of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. He is also survived by Suzie’s children and grandchildren Molly (John), Austin, Jack, and Mary Jourde and Becky (Dan), Isabel, and Henry Gutrich, his former wife Linda S. Kauffman, his brother Russell (Vinita) Kauffman and sisters Susan (Herbert) McDonald, Evelyn (Uzi) Yaari, and Loretta (Leonard) Provenzale, his faithful four-legged companion Fred, his nephews, nieces, cousins, and many dear friends.  Those who want to honor Sam’s memory with a charitable donation might give to The Wounded Warrior Project or the Vietnam Veterans of America.

A remembrance service will be held on Sunday, September 17 from 11am – 3pm, with “toasts to Sam” starting at 12:30pm at the Molly Pitcher Inn, 88 Riverside Avenue in Red Bank, New Jersey.