Lola Mildred Kauffmann

The service will be livestreamed.  This link will go live 5 to 10 minutes prior to the memorial service.

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Lola Mildred Kauffmann, 99, of Goshen, died Thursday, February 15, 2024 at Greencroft Healthcare.

She was born December 23, 1924 in Stanford, Illinois to Alvin and Bessie (Kaufman) Good. Lola grew up on farms in central Illinois with her parents and seven siblings. Family, farm, friends and church filled her life.  From age 12, Lola felt a call to serve Christ and the church.

On May 23, 1946 she married Ivan J. Kauffmann who became a pastor, so she worked out her call as the wife of a pastor. Lola used her skills to teach Bible classes and children’s Sunday school classes. She participated in the Women’s Missionary and Service Commission, serving as Illinois state WMSC President for two years.

Lola and Ivan moved multiple times: rural Hopedale Illinois, suburban Lombard Illinois, Chicago Illinois, Tinley Park Illinois, and finally Goshen. Lola shared that moving to new locations was not always easy but “they were growing experiences in understanding myself, the world around me, and the church. I was often reminded of the verse in Isaiah 43.19 ‘Behold, I will do a new thing.’” Through the moves, she was active in Mennonite Churches: Hopedale MC, Lombard MC, Oak Park MC and most recently College Mennonite Church in Goshen. In 1989, Lola wrote “Simple living, responsibility and faith in God are my heritage and I am deeply grateful to God, my family and the Church.”

Lola always had some sewing or quilting project going. She sewed clothes, stuffed animals and quilts as gifts for grandchildren. Quilts were her passion, and she pieced and quilted those as well as wall hangings and comforters for family and for Mennonite Central Committee. Gardening was both a passion and a necessity, raising vegetables and fruit for her family of six children, as well as flowers for enjoyment and beauty.

Volunteering was a way of life for Lola. While living at Greencroft Goshen, she volunteered more than 3000 hours, including quilting, Library Committee, and serving evening meals in Manor IV.

She is survived by five children, Paul (Patti Borom) Kauffmann, Columbus, Georgia, John (Suzi Wilgus) Kauffmann, Knoxville, Tennessee, Mary (Jon) Kauffmann-Kennel, Elkhart, Ruth (Brian Roots) Kauffmann, Goshen, and James ( Deb Sawatsky) Kauffmann, Oak Grove, Minnesota; a daughter-in-law, Nancy Geiser Kauffmann, Goshen; 16 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Eileen Nafziger, Illinois and Marilyn Kauffmann, South Carolina, and a brother, Walter (Lorene) Good, Illinois.

Along with her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a son, Joel Kauffmann; a granddaughter, Angela Kauffmann; three sisters, Helen Mumaw, Marcella Kossen, and Oleta Bachman, and a brother John Good.

A service to celebrate Lola’s 99 years of life will take place on April 6, 2024, at 2 p.m. at College Mennonite Church, Goshen. The service will be live streamed.

Memorials may be given to Goshen College and designated for The Joel Kauffmann Scholarship Fund in memory of Lola Kauffmann.

Lola’s cremated remains will be scattered at Greencroft Goshen Memorial Garden.