Kaufman, Joseph J. (1869-1954)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1954 Mar 4 p. 9

Birth date: 1869 Dec

text of obituary:

JOSEPH J. KAUFMAN

Joseph J. Kaufman was born in Russia in December of 1869; the exact date of his birth is not known. As a child he came over to America with his parents and settled in South Dakota. From there they moved to Pretty Prairie, Kansas.

Forty years ago, in 1914, they moved to Porterville, California, where a new Mennonite settlement was being formed. He planted an orange grove and engaged in farming. Due to water difficulties, most of the other settlers returned to Kansas or moved elsewhere, so the Kaufman family joined the Evangelical church.

He died of a heart attack on January 25, 1954, at the age of 84 years. He is survived by his wife, Helen Voth Kaufman; one daughter, Mrs. Dorothy Krehbiel of Berne, Indiana: two sons, Theodore and Victor Kaufman of Porterville; two sisters, Miss Caroline Kaufman of Porterville, and Mrs. Elizabeth Voth of Castleton, Kansas; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.