Sudden death of Phil Kaufman

We are Denise and David Pepper and are creating this fund to support Phil's funeral and associated expenses. Phil suddenly passed away in July. He was loving, giving, charming, brilliant, witty... He was always acticely involved in causes that can benefit people in all walks of life, especially those in his community. He was a very active community volunteer in West Covina. Many a time, he would be seen late into the night, chatting with the city's leadership over coffee in various cafes, always with the goal of enhancing and improving the quality of life in the community for all. Phil would be present to share his thoughts and ideas in myriad facets of life, including the health, welfare, safety, and educational services. Children and the elderly were of particular focus. In addition to the above, he spent much volunteer time to improving the local parks and recreation facilities, for the young and old, alike. Be it by attending local City Council meetings, canvassing the neighborhoods, or meeting the public at local events, Phil was always there, willing to go the extra mile, if it meant to make West Covina a model city. Phil carried the same enthusiasm and energy to address state, domestic and international issues through his many internet blogs for all to read. Phil was also a very loving and dedicated son to his late father; a loving husband to his late wife, Terry; and a marvelous and caring father to his wonderful daughter, Robin and her husband, Galen. Through Phil's dedication and presence, he left the world a better place to live, and, his legacy will inspire those for generations to come. Please join us in supporting the end-of-life, funeral and final expenses for our lifelong and dear friend, Mr. Philip S. Kaufman. ADDENDUM: Phil suddenly passed in his sleep, at the age of 70, during the recent July 4th holiday (ironically, on what have been his 43rd wedding anniversary). Phil leaves behind his only offspring, robin, and her husband, Galen. robin has always been a loving, charming, brilliant and dynamic woman, who was always there to provide her parents with the best medicine ever: her spirit, presence and hope to enjoy life to the fullest, irrespective of what was given to you. We are appealing to you to assist in funding Phil's funeral expenses, to memorialize the life of a loving son, husband and father. The logistics will be daunting, since robin and her husband, Galen, live and work in Seattle; while, Phil resided in his West Covina home for over 45 years, without any local relatives. Hence, robin and Galen are now tasked to make all the arrangements for Phil, from quite a distance. During his many years living in West Covina, Phil was extremely active and supportive in the city's local Government, primarily through his many volunteer efforts. Through his hard work and dedication to West Covina, Phil was appointed to the position of a Commissioner on the Community and Senior Services Commission. In collaboration with his dedicated colleagues, Phil and his co-workers enhanced the available services for West Covina seniors, and its citizens of all ages, thereby creating a model for other suburbs to emulate. Phil was extremely outspoken on various local, state and Federal Government issues, spending much time formulating his stance and sharing them before large groups of constituents, as well as door-to-door campaigning with his fellow citizens, to understand the issues that affect individuals in the community. Another joy for Phil and Terry was their mutual love and commitment for rescue dogs and cats. In the end, it became obvious that these wonderful four-legged friends, returned the favor by "rescuing" their human "houseguests." I had the fortune of knowing Phil for over 58 years (since our days at John Burroughs Jr. High in Los Angeles), playing basketball and serving on the school's stage crew --- from our vibrant times as kids, growing up in a safe and respectful environment, to our many travels with our college friends on trips to Yosemite, Oregon, Washington, Las Vegas, San Diego, British Columbia, Ensenada ... trips that expanded our horizons during our youth and beyond. Professionally, Phil received his B.S. in Political Science from UCLA, and his Law Degree from Loyola. His expertise was in defending Worker's Comp cases, during which time, he opened his own practice. A major highlight of his career was when he successfully argued a case before the California Supreme Court. After retiring from legal practice, Phil returned to school to pursue a new endeavor: The Affiliate Business arena, which markets well-known products over the Internet, a cyber marketplace, as a novel outlet store, providing services for the general public, with the support of major corporations and manufacturers. Phil became quite involved in this nationwide venture, enabling him to provide his colleagues with new insights. One of Phil's passions was sports. He loved to play softball, football and basketball in the local parks over the years; and to play intramural baseball and basketball while at UCLA. Occasionally, we had the luxury to attend professional and University sporting events. Phil and his father also had the privilege to attend a special Dodger game, at the Coliseum, back in 1958, when Roy Campanella, a hero of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who, tragically, was no longer able to play, owing to a horrific automobile accident. Campanella was honored before 93,000 cheering Dodger fans prior to the game. The recent years have been very challenging for Phil: One expects that life typically becomes more comfortable and less hectic as one enters the so-called "Golden Years." Unfortunately, during Phil's "Golden" years, he lost his loving father, as well as his dear wife and soulmate of 40 years, Terry. In Terry's life, after countless spinal and ophthalmic surgeries, further medical complications arose. Given Terry's chronic vision and major mobility limitations, Phil lovingly became Terry's caretaker for the remainder of her life. Beyond the medical issues, Phil had to confront the reality of navigating through the convoluted systems of Medicare, Medicade, its complex rules, conditions, procedures and never-ending paperwork. All of this came years after their daughter, robin, suffered a botched surgery after she and her husband were injured as innocent bystanders in a horrific traffic accident in San Francisco. The toll of these tragic events took on an added dimension:  Most of Phil's retirement savings had been depleted to cover various health expenses over many years for his deceased father, his deceased wife, and to continue, with Galen, to provide much needed health care for his wonderful daughter, robin. So, we ask that you please consider all the hardships that this wonderful family had to endure.  Please join us in assisting them with the costly funds required for Phil's funeral and final arrangements to honor and memorialize our dear kindred spirit, friend, and loving and delightful man.