Dr. Sondra Oster Kaufman

Dr. Sondra O. Kaufman, a professor for a quarter of a century at the University of Texas at Arlington and an activist for the plight of Jews around the world, died Aug. 27 at her home. She was 83. Kaufman was an immensely popular teacher of speech communication at UT-Arlington. She grew intellectually as that institution grew in stature from Arlington State College to a member of the UT System. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in Organizational and Interpersonal Communication; a Master of Arts degree in theater from SMU; and a bachelor’s degree in drama from UT-Austin. At UT-Austin, she was a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, the Curtain Club, Radio House, the Varsity Debate Team and Cap and Gown. Kaufman and her parents, Harold and Rhe Oster, and sister Barbara lived at the iconic Cliff Towers after moving to Dallas from Galveston, where she was born in 1929. Kaufman received her high school degree in 1945 from Adamson High School. Aside from her career in academia, Sondra and her husband, Stanley M. Kaufman, a distinguished Dallas attorney and decorated Army officer during World War II, led an active life in Jewish communal organizations, among them Congregation Shearith Israel and B’nai B’rith International. But it was Sondra Kaufman, a former president of the B’nai B’rith Women State Association, who would blaze a trail internationally through B’nai B’rith’s Center for Public Policy. In 1995, she took a trip to Russia, Poland and Estonia following a time when millions of Soviet Jews immigrated to the United States, Israel and other parts of the world. Kaufman also examined Jewish life in Poland, Canada and Mexico and Arab-Israeli relations in such places as Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. She also participated in a B’nai B’rith Mission to Cuba as yet another example of her passion for world Jewry. She exhibited her generosity to Jewish causes by joining others to fund the repair and rehabilitation a Jewish cemetery in Cuba. Kaufman told a news reporter, “It’s gratifying to know that you can be of help to the local community and the enlarged community of the whole world of all regions and races. B’nai B’rith has meant so much both to me personally and to our communities.” Perhaps the heart of her work revolved around 27 trips to Israel, mostly as part of archeological digs to Tel Dan, where she examined communications dynamics among workers sifting through thousands of years of artifacts in the North of Israel. She also served as a member of Dallas County Grand Jury. During her lifetime, Kaufman lived as an example of leadership and public service. She was a candidate for the Dallas School Board. For many years, Kaufman was a dedicated organizer in Texas of B’nai B’rith Institutes of Judaism, in which notable scholars, from Rabbi Harold Schulweis to Eric Hoffer, shared their widely published perspectives. In her later years, she would recall in great detail abundant stories of Galveston and families who came to the United States from Europe. Kaufman is preceded in death by her husband, Stanley M. Kaufman and is survived by a sister, Barbara Lampert, of Dallas, Texas, and husband Leon; three sons, Aaron S. Kaufman and wife Marilyn of Dallas; Charles O. Kaufman and wife Vonne of Austin, Texas; and Harold M. Kaufman and wife Lisa of New Orleans, La.; eight grandchildren, Michelle and Bobby Kaufman of Dallas, Julie Kaufman of Atlanta, Ga., Stanley and Alex Kaufman of New Orleans, La.; Brian Kaufman of New York, N.Y. and Heather and Avi Rasowsky of Chicago, Ill.; one great-grandson, Adley Rasowsky, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Kaufman’s funeral is set for 2 p.m. Thursday at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 W. Northwest Highway in Dallas. Pallbearers during the service Thursday will be Kaufman’s beloved grandsons and her brother-in-law, Leon M. Lampert and nephew Stanford Kaufman. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the B’nai B’rith International at 2020K Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20006 or the Harold M. Oster Cultural Fund at Congregation Shearith Israel, 9401 Douglas Ave., or the charity of your choice.