Sharon Kaufman
February 10, 1952 — May 8, 2016
Sharon M. “Sherry” Kaufman, age 64 years of Niles, Michigan died at 11:47 p.m. on Sunday, May 8, 2016 at Lakeland Medical Center in Saint Joseph, Michigan following a brief illness.
She was born on February 10, 1952 in Niles to Donald R. and Helen Marie (Cole) Benjamin. She attended Galien, Michigan schools, and was graduated from Niles High School. She had a long career as a nurse’s aide, including many years at Healthwin Hospital in South Bend, Indiana.
Sharon was a member of the First Baptist Churches in Berrien Springs, Michigan and in Baldwin, Michigan near her family’s home. She enjoyed watching classic television shows, and read every issue of the TV Guide. She was well known for her skill in the kitchen, making every style of wonderful meal, and hunting for morel mushrooms up north. Her greatest pleasure – other than her family – was equestrian activities, and she was always ready to be in the saddle.
On August 2, 1980 in Niles she married Jimmy Roger Kaufman with whom she celebrated last year the thirty-fifth anniversary of their wedding.
Surviving family includes her husband, Jimmy Kaufman and daughters, Heidi (& Michael Przybylinski) Dozeman of Baldwin and Heather Mitchell of Niles; grandchildren James Lee Seal, Michael Hoadley, Brittany Mitchell, and Kortney Mitchell; great-grandchildren Josiah, Jayse, Payton, Peirce, and Paisley; Sharon’s father, Donald Benjamin of Niles and her siblings, Linda (& William) Horner Stinnett of Cassopolis, Michigan, William Benjamin of Buchanan, Michigan, Patti (& Bob) Kenney of Niles, and Beverly (& Dennis) Smith of Buchanan; a sister-in-law, Rosie Terpening; Jimmy’s brother, Jack E. Kaufman of Statesville, North Carolina; step-brothers, Paul (& Reneé) Miller of Saint Augustine, Florida, Tim Miller of Galien, and step-sister, Margaret (& Tim) Fletcher of Niles; and many nieces and nephews including Scott William Fletcher, Kevin Fletcher, and Christopher Fletcher.
Sharon was preceded in death by a son, Daniel Eugene Hoadley who died in 1974; her mother and step-father Helen and Jack Miller, and a brother, Michael Benjamin.
The funeral service for Sharon Kaufman will be at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, May 13, 2016 at the Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles with the Rev. Derek Cromwell of the First Baptist Church of Berrien Springs officiating. Committal services will follow at the Galien Cemetery.
The family will receive relatives and friends on Thursday at the funeral home from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. Contributions in memory of Sherry may be made to the Donor’s Choice.