Ferdinand Kaufman Jr.'s Obituary
Ferdinand Kaufman, Jr., age 89, of Richardson, TX passed away peacefully on Feb. 3, 2016 surrounded by his family, whom he cherished. He was a very loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend that will be greatly missed. Ferd was born April 21, 1926, in Sapulpa, OK to the late Ferdinand Kaufman, Sr. and Eva Lee Whitley Kaufman. In 1938 the family moved to Little Rock, AR. Ferd graduated from Little Rock High School in 1944. He played the contra bass clarinet in the band and was on the staff of the Tiger newspaper. Upon graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Ferd served on the U.S.S. Wake Island and also on Samar Island in the Philippines. After the war, Ferd earned a degree in history from Arkansas Tech University while working as the school photographer. Upon graduation, he worked for the Arkansas Democrat newspaper in Little Rock. One of his earliest assignments was photographing President Harry S. Truman. A few years later, Ferd was appointed to be the official photographer by Governor Cherry for the State of Arkansas. In 1954, he was hired by the United Press in Dallas. Ferd married Ida Elizabeth Weir Dec. 27, 1954 at the First United Methodist Church in Little Rock. They met at Sunday school after both had graduated from college. Richardson, TX became their home in 1956. The Associated Press hired Ferd in 1957. In his twenty year AP career, he photographed eight presidents, primarily Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. When asked what his most memorable assignment was, he responded, “The four dark days of the assassination of President Kennedy and the events thereafter.” Other career highlights included covering the integration of the South, the space program, sports, celebrities, and being interviewed by the Sixth Floor Museum as part of the Living History Series in Oct. 2013. In 1977, Ferd retired from the AP and became the VP of Real Estate at Richardson Bank and Trust, and later at Pavillion Bank in Richardson. Ferd was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Richardson for 59 years and a member of the Pathfinder class. He loved to travel, especially with his family. He is survived by his wife, Ida, of 61 years, and their children and grandchildren: son, Clark Kaufman, and wife, Beth, of Plano, and their children, Kendall Kaufman, of Fort Worth, and Caroline Kaufman Freeman, and husband, John, of Savannah; daughter, Mary Pierson, and husband, Kerry, of Richardson, and their children, Elizabeth Pierson, of Dallas, and Grace Pierson Gill, and husband, lan, of Oklahoma City; daughter, Janis Reid, and husband, Mark, of Plano, and their children, Marcus Reid, and wife, Anna, of Seattle, and Benjamin Reid, of Norfolk, VA. Please join us in the celebration of his life on Monday, February 8th, at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church of Richardson, 503 N. Central Expressway, Richardson, TX. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Ferd’s honor to the music program at FUMC Richardson.
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