Kurtis John Kaufman
April 28, 1982 – January 1, 2010

Living life to the fullest, Kurtis died doing one of the things he loved best, snowmobiling; at one of the places he loved best, The Lakes (Lake Thomas near Colville, WA).

Whether it was motorcycling with his friends, fishing in Alaska with co-workers, hunting with his dad or taking a first time sky dive with his wife, Kurtis loved adventure and entered into them fully and with no fear.

Having met in high school nine years earlier, he married the love of his life, Claudia on May 10, 2008.

They bought a home near Lake Tapps to continue a passion for boating.

Sometimes known as MacGyver, Kurt loved their garage where he was often found hanging with friends, fiddling and fixing things. Seldom a weekend went by that Kurt was not organizing time with friends who said “We were his posse and he was our leader”.

His sisters lovingly describe him as “loved by many and hated by few” and “always willing to help others”. His actions said it all as he often stepped in to help his mom, sisters and others and shared his dazzling smile.

Kurtis grew up in Federal Way and spent his teen years on Lake Tapps.

He graduated in the class of 2000 from Thomas Jefferson High School.

Kurt was honored to recently become a partner at Sunrise Plumbing (located in Auburn and started in 1977 by his dad and graduate of Federal Way High School, Ron Kaufman) where he was enjoyed by his co-workers, many of whom were his best friends.

He leaves a big hole in the hearts of the many lives he touched and will be dearly missed by his wife Claudia, his mother Debbie Kaufman, his father Ron Kaufman (Cindy), his sisters Jenna and Michelle (Matt), his grandmother, Rosemary Kaufman and his uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws Andrzej and Lilianna Skyrzydlowski, as well as his friends and co-workers.