Samuel H. Caufman III

Samuel Huston Caufman III, of Churchman Village in Newark, Delaware, passed away on January 10, 2015 at the age of 88. Mr. Caufman was born on February 2, 1926 in Wilmington, Delaware to Samuel H. Caufman, Jr., former Editor of the News Journal, and Carolyn F. Churchman Caufman Johnson, both of Wilmington. He was predeceased by his brother, Robert L. Caufman. He was married on June 7, 1947 to the love of his life, Carolyn Anne Hawkins. He learned his trade as a wood patternmaker from his grandfather, Samuel H. Caufman Sr. He worked at his grandfather’s shop for many years and enjoyed every moment with him. After his grandfather passed away in 1955, Mr. Caufman started his own business, Caufman Patterns, in Newport, Delaware which he ran until his retirement in the late 1980s. Mr. Caufman served proudly in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He spent much of his time on Guam as the postmaster. He loved to tell stories of sitting on the front porch of the post office with his fellow sailors, singing and playing the guitar his mother had sent from home. He loved driving around Guam in his jeep filled with his Navy buddies. Mr. Caufman and his wife enjoyed travelling and visited China, South America, Panama and Tahiti but their favorite destination was Hawaii. He enjoyed meeting the native people of each area and making friends along the way. When his children were young, he would come from work, tell them all to pack their clothes, that they were going on a vacation. They never knew where we were going but it was always somewhere new. They travelled up and down the east coast on these spur of the moment vacations. Mr. Caufman was an artist with wood. He would never make furniture for money because he said that would ruin the fun of creating but he made beautiful furniture including tables with carved ball and claw feet, grandfather clocks, china cabinets and dry sinks, stools with legs carved like horses hooves or entwined fish. He made intricate intarsia wood hangings which included a deer on an arrowhead, horses, geisha girls and puppies. His love of wood included making carousel horses, fruit stands for a neighbor and many species of birds. He will live on in the hearts of many with the beautiful wood art he leaves behind. He loved to feed the birds and would often speak about the wonderful behaviors of birds that he observed. His favorite story was talking about watching a mother bird feeding her baby birds. He loved to play his guitar but didn’t like just strumming. He learned the technique of picking like Chet Atkins and was quite accomplished. We wish to thank the staff at Churchman Village who cared for Sam for the last year and a half. Their care allowed him to enjoy life, even with his limitations. Left to cherish his memory are his three children: Samuel Huston Caufman IV (Cindy) of San Luis, CO; Gary Hawkins Caufman (Loretta) of Elkton, MD and Deborah Lynn Kilby (Tracy) of Townsend, DE. He has 2 grandsons, Chris Kilby of Evansville, WY and Jeremy Kilby of Middletown, DE and 3 grandchildren, Jeremy Kilby II of Middletown and Alyssa and Brynne Kilby of Evansville, WY. A funeral service will be held at 9:30 am on Friday morning, January 23, 2015, at the Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 121 West Park Place, Newark, DE, where a visitation for family and friends will be held from 9 am until 9:30 am. Interment will follow in the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 2465 Chesapeake City Road, Bear, DE. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army, P.O. Box 308, Wilmington, DE 19899.