Randall Kaufman

Randall James Kaufman of rural Windom, Kansas, died on December 24, 2024. Randall was born January 1, 1944, the son of Alvin J. Kaufman and Florence Lorene (Stucky) Kaufman. He grew up on his family’s farm with three siblings and attended Wheatland School and Windom High School, graduating in 1961. A profound event for the family occurred when Randall was 12 when his older brother Larry died while serving with Mennonite PAX in Africa. This was significant to Randall because he looked up to Larry and, at least in some ways, wanted to follow in his footsteps. Randall continued his education at Bethel College, North Newton, graduating with a degree in Industrial Arts in 1968. Between his sophomore and junior years at Bethel, Randall served two years in Haiti with Mennonite Central Committee, maintaining hospital generators and vehicles, engineering a cannery, and piping fresh water into town from a mountain spring. Randall and Elizabeth Ruth Wenger were married June 8, 1969, in Newton. Randall and Betsy spent three years with Mennonite Central Committee in Mexico assisting local agricultural development. They welcomed the birth of their first child, Cristina, in Mexico. Upon returning to the States, Randall continued his education with engineering classes at Kansas State University, worked as a millwright in Inman, and celebrated the birth of their second child, David, before returning to the family farm in 1975. For the next 45 years, Randall’s farming endeavors were marked with his creativity and his care for the land and his community. His love and knowledge of engineering and mechanics led him to design and create much of his major farming equipment, including a 275hp four-wheel drive tractor. In addition to farming and building his own projects, he worked for Goossen Industries, in Beatrice, NE, as an engineer for several years. Randall served as a member of the Windom Volunteer Fire Department for 35 years. He was a lifelong member of First Mennonite Church, McPherson, and served both his local church and the wider denomination by living out his faith through leadership and support throughout his life. Randall loved and engaged with his family: cooking breakfasts, mentoring hurdles and discus, gathering around the table or picnics at the field, potlucks with extended family, and traveling to see the kids. Randall loved to explore the world, from math and physics, to art and music; from contemplative literature to anthropology; from four-part harmony around the piano to the Kansas Mennonite Men’s Chorus; from the stars above to the microbes in the soil; from wheat to cotton to no-till farming. He found value in the people he encountered, whether from down the road or from different lands. Randall is survived by his loving wife Betsy; their children, Cristina and Scott Woodall, and David and Sarah Kaufman; sisters, Joleen and Herb Pauls, and Mary and Doug Ellwood; siblings-in-law, Ann Wenger, Grace Wenger, Ken Voth and Konrad Ege; grandsons, Erik and Evan Kaufman; nieces and nephews; and countless other family and friends. Randall was preceded in death by his brother Larry Kaufman; his parents AK and Florence Kaufman; his step-mother Geneva Kaufman; in-laws Malcolm and Esther Wenger; sisters-in-law Martha Wenger and Rebecca Voth. The memorial service will be Saturday, January 11, 2025, at 11:00 am at First Mennonite Church, 1161 E. Ave. A, McPherson, Kansas. Burial service will follow at 2:30 pm at Windom Cemetery, 1451 Third Ave., 2 miles east of Windom, Kansas. Memorials may be made in Randall’s name to: Mennonite Central Committee PO Box 500 Akron, PA 17501 https://mcc.org/donate Relief, development and peace in the name of Christ

Randall Kaufman

January 1, 1944 - December 24, 2024