Louis S. Kaufman's Obituary
Louis Sailor Kaufman, 96, of Clinton passed away Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at Park Vista Retirement Living in Camanche.
A service of remembrance will be held at 3:00 pm, Friday, February 20, 2026, with visiting hour for family and friends starting at 2:00 pm, at the Clinton Chapel Snell-Zornig Funeral Homes & Crematory. Online condolences may be expressed by visiting his obituary at https://www.snellzornig.com.
Lou was born January 19, 1930 in Washington D.C., the son of Paul and Clarice (Ryther) Kaufman. He graduated from Hope High School in Providence, Rhode Island in 1948, and completed his B.A. at Boston University in 1953. He also served in the U.S. Army.
Lou moved to Clinton in the mid-1960s, providing vocational education for many decades at Job Corps. Previously he had taught computer programming for Wards in Chicago and sold children’s books for Ollis Book Company. As a masterful teller of jokes, Lou’s greatest joy was to bring laughter into other people’s lives.
He married Carol Cook on July 11, 1975 in Rockford, Illinois, forming an enduring bond of love and companionship. Together they enjoyed traveling by mini-van to visit friends and relatives all over the US, from the East Coast and Mid-West to the Rocky Mountains and Southwest. Every year they cultivated a large vegetable garden at their home in Clinton and shared their bounty with friends and neighbors.
He is survived by his niece Katharine Kaufman (Colorado), nephew Roger Kaufman Jr. (Arizona), and members of Carol’s family, including nieces Trinda Smith (New Mexico), Karen Bewley (North Carolina), and Sara Hankemeier (Iowa), along with nephew Chad DeVore (Oklahoma) and many close friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, and his brother, Roger Kaufman Sr.
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