Stephen Kauffman

Stephen Herbert Kauffman, age 69, of Centerville, MA, previously of Natick, MA passed away peacefully on August 17, 2012 after his brief but courageous battle with melanoma. Steve was a loving father and husband, an erudite healthcare professional, a respected Temple Israel president, and an astute businessman. His sharp wit and larger than life personality will be sorely missed.

He graduated with dual majors in Biology and Chemistry from the Pennsylvania Military College, and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Twenty-seven years of his life were dedicated to the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) where he worked his way up the ranks to become the Chief Operating Officer of the hospital. He contributed much to his profession; testifying before the US Senate on “red bag” hospital waste solutions, developing a closed-circuit television station to improve medical education, creating an MGH two-year fellowship program to hire the best and brightest, and partnering with Boston city schools to encourage local students to choose healthcare careers. He retired from MGH in 1994, but true-to-form, did not retire to relax.

Retirement to Steve meant he had more time to dedicate to things such as purchasing a motel on Cape Cod with his wife Betty and evolving it into a thriving bed & breakfast, founding a healthcare consulting business, investing in new technologies through his venture capital groups, and becoming a successful commercial real estate agent in Plymouth. In his spare moments he traveled the world and enjoyed golf and sailing.

Steve’s wife, Elizabeth “Betty” Kauffman, preceded him in death in December 2004. Stephen is survived by his two daughters and son, Jennifer Whaley (Langley AFB, VA), Rebecca Kauffman-Ingmarsson (Malmö, Sweden), and Scott Kauffman (Boston, MA) and his grandchildren, Prue & Hayden Whaley, and Hunter & Stella Kauffman.

A funeral service will be held at Temple Israel of Natick at 10 am on Sunday, August 19, 2012. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made on Steve’s behalf to the American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org) or to Mass General’s “Campaign for the Third Century of MGH Medicine” (http://www.thirdcenturyofmedicine.org).