Fr. Lester Kaufmann, OMI, died at his residence at Trinity Manor in Saskatoon on Sunday, September 12, 2021 at the age of 92 years.
Fr. Kaufmann was born April 11, 1929, at Scott, SK, to Rose (Schmidt) and Anthony Kaufmann. After attending school in Leipzig SK, he went to St. Thomas College, in North Battleford, SK, where he began his novitiate in the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, professing his First Vows on September 8, 1949.
Fr. Kaufmann’s scholasticate years were spent at St. Charles Scholasticate in Battleford, SK, and he was ordained to the priesthood on Oct.7, 1954. Fr. Kaufmann’s parish ministry assignments were numerous: he served in many, many parishes in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba
Fr. Kaufmann was always willing to go where he was asked, including many distant communities not only in the prairie provinces, but in Inuvik and the Yukon. After being assigned to the retirement community of Oblates in Saskatchewan, he was still very eager to replace at parishes whenever asked, no matter the distance he would need to travel, nor the amount of work involved.
Fr. Kaufmann was a happy man, known familiarly as “Smiley”. He lived up to that epithet daily by the way he spread his smile around with his cheerful reply to anyone asking him how he was doing “God still loves me, and He loves you too!”. Fr. Kaufmann exercised every day, and often said he felt “fit as a fiddle and ready for the day’s work”. He was a man of prayer, always remembering the needs of those around him.
Fr. Kaufmann’s family remembers him as a very dear brother, uncle, and great-uncle, an upbeat, loving and encouraging presence for them all. He loved to visit family whenever he could, officiating at many marriages, baptisms, anniversaries, and funerals. He enjoyed their family gatherings, especially the card games that followed. Fr. Kaufmann was very attentive to his brothers Arnold and Bernard in their final years, and in the last year or so, he and his sister Dolores prayed the rosary together on the phone every afternoon.
Fr. Kaufmann was predeceased by his parents, Rose and Anthony, and his siblings Lucille, William, Collette, Arnold, Bernard, Sr. Mildred, Rose Marie, and David. He will be missed by his religious community, the Saskatchewan District of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, his sister Dolores, many nieces, nephews, and friends.
The Funeral Mass was celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 at St. Philip Neri Church, 1902 Munroe Avenue, Saskatoon, SK. Interment will follow at the Oblate cemetery in Battleford, SK.
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