- Date Of Birth: October 29, 1914
- Date Of Death: November 28, 2014
- State: Arkansas
Marvin Key Kauffman
October 29, 1914 – November 28, 2014
Marvin Kauffman of Sheridan, Arkansas passed away on Friday, November 28, 2014 at his home at the age of 100. He was born to Wesley W. and Minnie Frazer Kauffman on October 29, 1914 in Princeton, Arkansas. He was predeceased by his wife, Evelyn Hixson Kauffman, two brothers and two sisters. He is survived by two step-children, Phylise Hixson-Wilson and Jimmy Hixson., 3 step-grandchildren, Shiloh Hicks (New Jersey), Michelle Ordonia (Las Vegas), and Michael Hixson (California) and numerous nephews and nieces and their children and children’s children.
Marvin Kauffman’s life was characterized by service to his country, state, and community. After graduating in 1938 from the University of Arkansas, Monticello, he taught mathematics and coached girls’ basketball at Princeton High School for a year, and then volunteered for service in the U.S. Army. He was sent to Pearl Harbor as a young officer in command of a coastal artillery battery and saw action during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. After spending a year in the U.S. training an artillery unit for combat he joined General Patton’s Third Army, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and the forty miles from Berlin when World War II ended.
After the war, he established a Grapette production and distribution operation in Redwood City, California and married Louise Williams of Camden, Arkansas. Marvin and Louise lived in the San Francisco Bay area until her death in 1965. He subsequently married Evelyn (Turner) Hixson of Camden, and in 1975 they sold the Grapette business in California and retired to Sheridan, Arkansas, where he built several custom homes. Evelyn passed away in 2006 at age 91.
Throughout his adult life, Marvin Kauffman was active community affairs. First and foremost he was active in Rotary International and served as District Governor for the southern half of Arkansas in addition to being a Paul Harris Fellow. In Sheridan, he served on the Water Board and the Economic Development Board. He was a lifetime member of the Elks Club as well as the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.
