Irene Adeline Weiss was born to Ernest and Olga (Weidman) Weiss on February 17, 1926 in a farm house in Walworth County near Akaska, South Dakota. She was the third of seven children. She was baptized in the Lutheran faith on April 25, 1926 in Akaska by Pastor A.W. Fuerstenau. She attended a country school near Akaska until the family moved to Parmelee when she was seven. During the move, Irene, her older sister and her mother walked the entire way, herding 400 sheep from Akaska to Parmelee, while her father and 9-year-old brother drove two vehicles containing all the family's possessions. The family dog came along but drowned crossing the Missouri River at Ft. Pierre.
Irene attended the Parmelee and Kaiser schools in Todd and Mellette Counties. She and her brother and sister took turns staying home from school to herd sheep. She quit school when she was in the 7th grade as she was needed at home to help with the work. For extra income, her father Ernest had a family band that played for dances in the area and Irene would go along to sing and play several instruments, including piano and banjo, her favorite instrument. She never learned to read music but played all her father's songs by ear. She sang alto in the church choir, where her mother was the organist.
In 1940, Irene was confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church near Norris where she met Jimmy Kaufman, the love of her life. Irene and Jim were married at that church on May 5, 1946 by Rev. Kraft. They were blessed with four children: Marjorie, Carol, Kenny and Robert. They bought a farm southeast of Norris from Jim's uncle where the family ranched and farmed. Irene was an outdoor person. She liked gardening and helping Jim, driving the tractor, working the ground and planting wheat. She liked raising chickens and had a mean rooster that went a few rounds with anyone who came on the place.
They joined a square dance club in Murdo and then White River in the early 1950s which started a lifetime of fun and travel for the couple. In 1980, they went to Switzerland with a square dance group. Besides Switzerland, they danced in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Holland. For many years they traveled from Canada to Mesa, Arizona dancing and making new friends. She started and taught a clogging class at the White River Twirlers square dance club. Irene liked to sew and made all her own square dance dresses. She had closets full of colorful, frilly dresses and cancans.
After losing Jim in 1993, she spent the next few years taking care of great-grandchildren, teaching them to sing songs and play the piano. They went for walks and had picnics on the deck. In 1998, she started traveling again, by bus this time. Boarding the Jefferson bus at Kadoka, Irene traveled to many states she'd never been to before, square dancing again and clogging.
Irene sold the farm in 1995, but remained living in her home until 2012 when she moved to Valentine, Nebraska. She moved to Rapid City in 2019 to be closer to her grandchildren. In March of this year, she moved into an assisted living apartment where Irene continued to impress people with her charm and agility. No one believed she was 96. She passed away in the early hours on April 26th, holding the hand of the only grandchild she’d taught to clog, Cora Brickman.
Irene was preceded in death by Jim, her husband of 47 years, son Kenny who died in infancy, parents Ernest and Olga Weiss, brothers Harold (Charity), Earl and Richard (Carol) Weiss, sisters Erna (Walter) Heinert, Ellen (Robert) and Darlene (Roger) Guenther, and son-in-law Ed Ferguson.
She is survived by her children Marjorie (Gene) Popkes, Carol Ferguson, and Robert (Darla) Kaufman; brother-in-law Roger Guenther, grandchildren Joe (Dawn) Grimshaw, Jennifer (Travis) Brenden, Julie (Justin) Boyd, Jesse, Pete (Marla) and Cole Ferguson, Cora (Scott) Brickman and a host of great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and friends.
Funeral service for Irene Kaufman, age 96, of Norris, SD will be held on, Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 1:00 PM at St. John Lutheran Church in Norris. Burial will follow at St. John Cemetery in Norris. Visitation will be 1 hour prior to the funeral service at the church. Mrs. Kaufman passed away on April 26 in Rapid City, SD.