Collection HM1/904 - Daniel E. Kauffman Papers

Daniel Erb Kauffman was born to James and Mabel (Erb) Kauffman on June 19, 1922, near Hesston, Kansas. He received undergraduate degrees from Hesston College and Goshen College between 1940 and 1943 and served through Civilian Public Service from 1943 to 1946. He married Edith Yoder on May 27, 1944, in Kalona, Iowa and together they had two daughters and two sons. After Edith died in 1988, he was married to Anna Martin from 1991 until her death in 2004.

Kauffman served as business manager for Hesston College from 1946 to 1961. During this period he received a MA degree in Educational Administration from Columbia University and was instrumental in introducing the unified budget as a model for Mennonite congregations in the western United States. From 1961 to 1966 he served as Secretary of Stewardship for the Mennonite Church General Board and worked to promote Christian stewardship education and programs for conferences and congregations. He then worked as a business administrator for the Southmoreland School District (PA) before accepting the role of Director of Development at Goshen College in 1971, where he worked until his retirement in 1986.

After retirement, Kauffman continued his stewardship work, serving as a volunteer consultant for Mennonite organizations and institutions on behalf of the Mennonite Foundation. He published his thoughts on stewardship in the 1990 book, Managers with God: Continuing the Work Christ Began (Herald Press). In the early 1990s, he also led fundraising efforts for the College Mennonite Church building drive, where he was an active member. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1995 and died in 2006.

Source: http://mcusa-archives.org/MennObits/Lazarus/2006/LP%202006%20I-K.html