Jon F. Kaufmann, 67, of Bettendorf, IA, passed away on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House. Visitation will be held on Sunday, July 18, 2021 from 1-3pm at Weerts Funeral Home. Funeral will be held on Monday, July 19, 2021 at 10:30 am at Trinity Lutheran Church in Davenport. Burial will be at Pleasant Valley Cemetery. Memorials in Jon’s name may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church.
Jon was born on October 21, 1953 to John and Olinda Kaufmann in Davenport, Iowa. Jon and his four other siblings grew up in Pleasant Valley, IA.
Jon began his career in manufacturing at French & Hecht in 1972 where he worked for 16 years. On April 29, 1978, Jon married the love of his life, Mary Eckstein with whom he was blessed with two children; one of which he quickly adopted as his own. Jon showed exemplary work ethic throughout his working career which was undoubtedly passed to his children. After 31 years of service, Jon retired from Alcoa in 2019 as a Lab Technician.
Jon was a devoted member and servant at Trinity Lutheran Church for many years. If you didn’t see him volunteering his time in various ways outside of Sunday church, you certainly saw him ushering at the 8:00 Sunday service. He was a MacGyver-like Mr. Fix It; if something needed to be repaired Jon would find a way to fix it, usually by sifting through his endless supply of used parts, nuts and bolts, to find the perfect part, or at least one close enough that he could modify into the perfect part. He enjoyed biking the river trails in both IA and IL, eventually hitting his goal of 100 miles in one day. At a young age, Jon got a job at the Mt. Joy airport which began his love of aviation. Jon would fly anything with a motor and a propeller. Jon’s garage was not for cars. After a restoration of his brother’s helicopter, Jon set out to build his own airplane. A large container was shipped to the house one day containing only the metal fuselage. Building everything himself, he completed his own airplane 15 some odd years later. Most of all Jon lived for his family. There wasn’t a time he didn’t help when his family needed it; whether it was moving his daughter across the country or helping his son remodel one of many houses. Jon held a very special bond with his grandson, Camden.
Jon was committed to his battle against his brain cancer and fought vigorously for nearly two years. He and his family met many special people along that journey, including the staff at the Clarissa Cook Hospice House. Those left to honor Jon’s memory are his wife of 43 years, Mary; daughter Michelle Kaufmann (Kevin Cullen); son Chris (Amy) Kaufmann; grandson Camden Kaufmann; brothers Edward (Carol) and Arnold (Diane) Kaufmann; and sister-in-law Patricia Hall (Brad Bliss).
He was preceded in death by his parents and sisters Roberta Lorenz and Joyce Caldwell.
