Obituary of Deborah R. Kauffman
Beloved Scientist, Teacher and Mentor.
Deborah passed away on August 28, 2018 at age 50.
Debbie was born and raised in Rochester, New York and went to college in Buffalo gaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with a specialty in Genetics. From there she began her science journey. Her first job was to develop scalable manufacturing of Tamoxifen, a new treatment for women with breast cancer. Little did she know that this same medication would help extend and improve her life as a survivor.
With her husband, Eric, Debbie moved to Roanoke, Virginia and then Atlanta, Georgia. Both moves were to support her husband's career. In Atlanta, Debbie found her new passion - teaching science. From humble beginnings as a volunteer parent, Debbie helped the elementary school teachers with their understanding of science fundamentals. This evolved into her building and running the best elementary school science curriculum in Cobb County. Her teaching abilities and passion became legendary.
Unfortunately the return of her cancer forced her to give up teaching. It didn't take anything away from her passion. Instead she turned her efforts toward a program called FIRST Robotics. Called the "varsity sport for the mind", she became a mentor, started teams, and eventually ran district and state competitions. For 12 years, Debbie inspired students of all ages who, in turn, inspired thousands of others to love science. In April of this year, Debbie was selected by FIRST as the Woody Flowers Finalist Award for Georgia. This award was given to her based on an essay that was written by some of her students and it never mentioned her illness.
Her illness didn't care. Debbie was not able to make it to the State Championships where this award would be given to her. When it was explained why she wasn't there, the crowd - many with tears in their eyes because she never told them she was sick – began chanting her name. As of this writing, the Georgia FIRST community is preparing a memorial service in her honor.
She leaves behind her husband of 24 years, Eric; sons, Aaron and Joshua; mother, Susan Lillie; brothers: Douglas (Kimberly) and David (Deanna) Lillie; 7 nieces and nephews and the thousands of students whom she has inspired to love science.
Friends and family are invited to call between the hours of 3 & 7pm on FRIDAY, August 31st at Miller Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc. (3325 Winton Rd S). Funeral Service will be 11am on SATURDAY, September 1st at First Presbyterian Church (21 Church St, Pittsford).
Donation instructions:
Debbie had a love for science and a greater love for inspiring a love of science in others. She found the perfect outlet for this in FIRST Robotics. In our adopted home of Atlanta, Debbie helped start teams, mentor other teams, and run entire competitions. Along the way, she inspired hundreds of students who, in turn, inspired thousands of others. To help continue her legacy, we ask that you consider a donation to Georgia FIRST Robotics. Instructions are below.
Please go to the following link:
Scroll down past "team payments" to "donate"
This will take you to a PayPal link.
Please click on "Add special instructions to the seller" and add "Debbie Kauffman" along with any message you want to send.
For more information about FIRST, you can visit VISIT HERE
