Naomi Kaufman

Naomi Kaufman was a loving wife, mother, doting grandmother, and a friend to just about everyone she met. She left us on the last day of the year, December 31, 2020 at the age of 84.

Naomi was born to Ben Sharpe and Ethel Ross on February 8, 1936, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She and her sister Arline (Leshner) and brother Marvin (1928-2019) grew up in St. Catherine, Ontario where their mother filled the house with the wonderful cooking that would inspire Naomi’s lifelong passion for wonderful food and recipes, especially for meals that she could share with crowds of people. Passionate about her Jewish upbringing, the highlight of her teen years was a trip to Israel in the late 1950’s where, as part of her program, she met Jewish teens from all over the world and cemented her love for the country and its people.

After high school, Naomi attended university and received an Associate degree in Nutrition and then moved to Niagara Falls to work as a dietician. Her sister, Arline, set her up on a blind date with a young chemist, Charles Kaufman (1930-2017), and partly because he met her criteria of being very tall and very smart, they married within the year. Together, they had 3 children: Leah, Edward, and Philip, who were her pride and joy, until, of course Phil and Cindi (Spiegel) blessed her with her adored grandchildren, Ayla Kaufman and Ari Kaufman, as well as the two puppies, Chewie and Astrid, who knew she always had treats for them.

Over their 58 years together, she and Chuck moved from Niagara Falls to New Haven, Boston, Rochester, NY, and finally Raleigh, NC. In each new town she quickly met neighbors and synagogue members, building a close network of wonderful friends. Some people make a home into a nest with furniture and window treatments, Naomi’s unique talent was the ability to fill her home with people whom she would cherish, laugh with, regal with stories, and support each other throughout their lives.

Of all the communities she belonged to, her heart was fullest during summers at the Chautauqua Institute in Chautauqua, NY. She loved every aspect of Chautauqua – the balmy summer air, the lectures and discussions, the symphony, dance and theater programs, the wide raging discussions on topics of the day. Within this wealth of cultural and educational delights, two things lit her like nothing else: her wide-ranging community of friends and the opera students she ‘adopted’ every summer. Watching these young singers develop their voices and performance skills, being their friend, cooking for them, and giving them place to relax away from their classes and rehearsing, brought her tremendous joy. She stayed in touch with many of them over the years and, her delight in their success at opera venues all around the world, made her burst with pride. And they stayed in touch with her, their friendships continuing long after the summer when they met.

Some other things she loved: playing tennis; cheering on Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe; traveling to Greece, Turkey, Israel, and Africa; arriving at Playmakers Theater in Chapel Hill at 5:30 PM on Community nights to get her favorite seats (right side, front row). Just a note: Naomi would be exceedingly grateful that there are no puns anywhere in here and that she no longer needs to groan at her husband’s and kid’s verbal antics. Sorry mom.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Opera Student Voice Program at Chautauqua and help her beloved opera students continue to grow and flourish. Gifts should be made to Chautauqua Institution, and sent to the Office of Advancement, PO Box 28, Chautauqua, NY 14722. Please note with the donation that the gift is in memory of Naomi Kaufman and intended for the Chautauqua Opera Student Voice Program.