Ira H. Kaufman MD

Ira H. Kaufman, MD, 92, died peacefully Friday, the 21st of August 2020, at his home in Houston, Texas. Dr. Kaufman was born on the 7th of August 1928, in New York City to Abraham and Sara Kaufman. He attended the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, NY and continued his education at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he earned his A.B. in 1949. Thereafter, he received his medical degree at the Cornell University Medical College in 1953. Dr. Kaufman completed his Residency Training program at The New York Hospital in 1957 and received his Specialty Board Certification from the American Board of Ophthalmology in 1959. His hospital appointments included the V.A. Hospital, Brooklyn N.Y., the U.S. Naval Hospital, St. Albans, N.Y., the Long Island Jewish Hospital, N.Y., Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, New York, N.Y., the New York Hospital, New York, N.Y., and the North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, N.Y., where he was Attending in Charge of Ophthalmology from 1967 to 1985.

Dr. Kaufman was the Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Cornell University Medical Center from 1973 through 1981, when he was named Clinical Professor. Among his numerous memberships and affiliations, he was a Fellow at the American College of Surgeons, a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, and the American Medical Association, as well as a past president of the Long Island Ophthalmological Society.

Dr. Kaufman was a devoted patron of the arts. He was a member of The Lotos Club in New York City and was a long-time supporter of The Frick Collection in New York City as well as the Houston Symphony and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. He was an accomplished jazz pianist who delighted listeners with his creative musical interpretations. He was also known among his friends and associates for possessing a keen intellect, his breadth of knowledge on a wide range of issues and subjects, and his ability to articulate his position with eloquence and respect. He was deeply devoted to his five sons and his wife, always generous and supportive. He was a father who did not have to tell you he loved you. You knew it. As an acclaimed physician sought after for his widely respected diagnostic skills, he instilled in his family the virtue of striving for excellence and the importance of detail. He was a scholar who studied a broad range of subjects and once said “if you read one book on a subject, you know more about that subject than 90% of the rest of the people”. Later in life he explored the spiritual side of the human experience as he studied the major religions and sought out thoughtful conversations with people of various faiths. Possessed of a dry sense of humor, he could fashion a pun for almost anything. That sense of humor will be one of the things about him that will be most sorely missed.

Dr. Kaufman was pre-deceased by his beloved son, David, and his wife, Susan. He is survived by his loving wife of 68 years, Dawn Gruwell Kaufman; his son, Charles and his wife, Jan; his son, Jonathan and his wife, Stephanie; his son, Thomas and his wife, Carla; and his son Justin. He also is survived by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Due to the pandemic, no service will be held.