2008 JWK Tourney Highlight Booklet

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7th
Josh W. Kaufman
Golf Tournament
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sullivan Country Club
All proceeds benefit
American Cancer Society’s
Relay For Life
Tournament Partner Sponsor
Printed Courtesy of Triad Office City, Rolla MO
Josh W. Kaufman
Golf Tournament
The Josh Kaufman Foundation was established in 2002 by Josh’s close family
and friends. Sadly, Josh lost his battle on December 27, 2001.
With relentless efforts and with the assistance of many devoted individuals,
the Josh Kaufman Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness and improving
the quality of life of cancer patients while working toward prevention and a cure.
The specific goal of the Josh Kaufman Foundation is to raise funds to finance
research which offers significant promise in the search for a cure of many types
of terminal cancers. Money is raised from charitable donations, raffles, and other
similar fund-raising events.
In recognition of Josh, many family, friends, and local businesses have joined
together each year to raise money with the proceeds to benefit the American
Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. In just 6 short years of hosting various fundraisers,
over $100,000 has been raised in Josh’s honor, and given locally to Sullivan’s Relay
For Life chapter.
Together, with everyone’s support, a cure will be found.
Thank you to each and everyone involved.
Mike & Robin Kaufman
Jake & Melanie Kaufman
Madison (Josh’s Daughter)
Megan & Brandon Strauser
2008 Tournament Highlights
We appreciate and thank each any every sponsor listed below. Your commitment to our cause is greatly appreciated.
Please patronize these businesses to thank them personally.
Hole Sponsors
Donations
Partner Sponsorship ($1,000)
Fidelity Communications Company
Silver Sponsorship ($300)
Gas Products Sales, Inc. - Tom Gobin
GE Energy St. Louis Service Center
Hole Sponsorship ($150)
Alexander Propane - Chris Alexander
Bank of Sullivan
Bourbon Family Center - Jerry Crump
Central Missouri Septic Service Inc.
Dickey Bub Farm & Home of Union, Eureka & Potosi
First State Community Bank - Sullivan
Four Rivers Realty - Justin Head
Gerry Counts Auto Body - Dennis Wissmann
Hill Chiropractic - William L. Hill, D.C.
Johanning Real Estate - Susan Heath
Kingdom KIA - Rolla
Lewis Machine & Tool Co. - Ron Lewis
Missouri Baptist Hospital - Sullivan
Paramount Apparel Intl. - Mark Rubenstein
Priority Mortgage - Bank Of Sullivan
St. Anthony Catholic Church - Father Dennis Zacheis
St. Joan of Arc Parish - Father Ted Brunnert
Strauser’s Repair - Heath Strauser
Town & Country Bank - Diane Charlson
True Colors Painting & Powerwashing L.L.C. - Jeff Breeden
Gift Certificates and Product Donations
3 Brothers Restaurant & Bar - Labadie
Bourbon Family Center
Day Dreams Day Spa - Washington
Debbie Smith
Dierdorf & Hart’s Steak House
Eaton Funeral Home - Jim & Mary Ann Eaton
Extra Innings Photography - Sullivan
First Community National Bank
Franklin County Country Club - Washington
Glenn & Marcia McKay
Imo’s Pizza
Jake’s Steaks
Jeff Tod
Jim Stafford Show - Branson
Korte Services L.L.C. (Frisco’s Grill & Pub)
Megan Strauser
Mike & Robin Kaufman
Mullally Distributing - Cuba
P.S. Enterprises (Sandra Stegeman)
Patrick & Melanie Tamm
St. Louis Rams
Roller and Company Salon & Spa
Scott Ashlock
Silver Dollar City - Branson
Six Flags - St. Louis
St. Anthony Ladies Guild
Sullivan Sports Fitness & Rehabilitation Center
Wal-Mart Supercenter
Wendy Head
Yellowstone Café - Chesterfield
Tournament Quote:
“Thank you for all the hard work
that goes into preparing for an
event like this. Our group had a
great time out there. I hope that
I can participate for many years
to come!”
Just one of the comments
we have received during the
years hosting this tournament
in Josh’s honor. We hope you
have the same sentiment and
will join us again for this year
and for many years to come!
2008
Thank you to everyone that supports the JWK Golf Tournament!
We appreciate everything!
Tournament Rewards
FLIGHTS A & B
Skins Game Available
(Must Register Prior To Start)
Longest Drive - Men
Longest Drive - Women
Closest to Pin - Men
Closest to Pin - Women
Longest Putt - Men
Longest Putt - Women
All tournament rewards will be
given out during the tournament
dinner. We encourage all players
to join us for a time of celebration
in Josh’s honor.
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Three-Step
CANCER CHALLENGE
Count the number of
individuals you know
whose life has been
impacted by Cancer.
Choose a dollar amount
between $1 and $500.
Multiply the two
numbers above and
make a cash donation
for that amount.
Special Thanks
We would like to offer our
thanks to the efforts of Josh’s
aunt & uncle, Allen & Christy
Kaufman. They began the
idea of hosting the 1st Annual
Golf Tournament back in 2002.
Without them, this day of
fellowship would not exist.
Sullivan. Robin recalls that on his first trip there that
he met Bridget Hulsey, RN, a nurse who works in
the hospital’s oncology unit. She looked up at Josh
and said, “Hi, Josh, you and I are going to become
best friends.”“And they did,” Robin says.
He was the youngest patient in the Missouri Baptist Hospital-Sullivan oncology department but,
true to his nature, Josh made friends with patients
and staff. According to Robin, the entire oncology
staff, including Terri Brown, RN, and Hulsey spoiled
him. “If he wanted a Popsicle, they got him a Popsicle,” she laughs.
He received medications that he and his family referred to as “hairkillers.” And his steroid medications
caused him to gain weight and become irritable.
He tried to return to college, but he was exhausted
and slept long hours. Through it all, Josh believed
he was beating the cancer.
Then the roller coaster ride began.
Within a few weeks his cancer was in remission,
and he proposed to Megan in June 1999. They
planned an April 2001 wedding. But in the fall of
2000, the leukemia returned.
Living Life To The Fullest.
“It’s A Wonderful Life” Story
By ALAN WESLEY
Josh Kaufman was a shy child. “Sometimes you
didn’t know he was around,” says his mother, Robin
Kaufman. When a band teacher asked him what
instrument he would like to play in the 5th-grade
band, Josh was too intimidated to tell the teacher
that he could play the drums.
But he grew out his shyness - grew to become a
broad-shouldered, six-foot-tall, All-Conference
defensive back on his high school football team,
and the boy who “never spoke” now made friends
easily.
Jake was tested as a bone marrow donor for his
brother. The Kaufmans had a one-in-four chance of
a match for the procedure and Jake turned out to
be a viable donor.
“We thought it was a gift from God,” says Robin.
In February 2001, Josh underwent a bone marrow
transplant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Robin and
Mike were told that the first 100 days following
the transplant would be critical. On day 99, the day
that his and Megan’s wedding announcement was
published in the local paper, Josh learned that the
leukemia was back.
On the recommendation of Josh’s physicians, the
wedding plans were pushed back until November.
He was simply too weak.
“After a while, you’re almost afraid to celebrate
good news because tomorrow, the news might be
bad,” says Robin.
When he was 16, he grew to love Megan Crump, a
pretty, brown-eyed girl with dark hair who worked
alongside him in her father’s variety store. And
Megan returned his affection.
Michael Bolger, MD, an oncologist at Missouri
Baptist Medical Center, put Josh back on chemotherapy. Josh was told that he could die. His face
went blank and then he said, “Okay.”
Josh graduated from East Central College in December 1998. He was 20 years old, living at home
with Robin, his dad, Mike, and his younger brother,
Jake. He was planning to enroll in some computer
courses. But throughout that winter he had suffered from colds and sinus infections that never
went away. He told his mother that he felt tired.
Robin made a doctor’s appointment for him.
He rallied again, responding well to the treatments.
“They were amazed at his will to live,” says Robin.
After some blood work, Dr. Florante Repaso called
Robin into his office. “We’re looking at a serious
problem,” he said. “Josh’s white blood cell count is
extremely high.”
Further tests at Missouri Baptist Medical Center
in St. Louis confirmed Dr. Repaso’s suspicion. Josh
had leukemia.
“We didn’t understand the full depth of it at the
time,” says Robin. Josh just said, “Okay, I’ve got this
and I’m going to deal with it.”
Josh received chemotherapy at Missouri Baptist
Medical Center. Every two months, he endured
painful bone marrow biopsies taken from his hip to
determine if the chemotherapy was working, and
he underwent lumbar punctures so that his spinal
fluid could be analyzed for signs that the cancer
was spreading through his brain and central
nervous system.
Fortunately, Josh was able to receive some of his
chemotherapy treatments close to home in the
oncology department at Missouri Baptist Hospital
Dr. Bolger recommended that Josh go to the M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
The physicians at M.D. Anderson put Josh on an
experimental medication, which seemed to work.
Josh received treatments there for five weeks while
Robin, Mike and Megan shuttled back and forth
between Sullivan and Houston.
Friends and family members pitched in to help.
They watched the Kaufman’s house while the family was away and prepared meals for them when
they were home. The community responded with
a benefit auction.
And through the long hospital stays, Robin
watched her son’s heroic struggle in amazement.
While he slept, she memorized his face. “He had
dimples and a wonderful smile. I’d be sitting there
thinking that I just want to be able to remember
him. He was beautiful, inside and out.”
Josh told his physicians that he was getting married in November and refused their advice to hold
the wedding in Houston. He wanted to go home.
He and Megan were married in Sullivan on
Saturday, Nov. 3, 2001. On the following Monday,
the newlyweds boarded a plane back to Houston.
“Okay, let’s imagine we’re really on our way to
Hawaii with a little detour to Houston,” Megan told
him.
Josh endured an experimental donor lymphocyte
infusion treatment. Jake was the stem cell donor
for the procedure, but this time, Josh did not
respond well. The doctor’s wanted to try another
round of chemotherapy. Josh refused. He could receive chemotherapy at home, and that’s where he
wanted to be. Dr. Bolger agreed, and Josh returned
to Sullivan.
He and Megan moved into a duplex apartment.
“They just wanted their lives together,” Robin says.
Josh sent Megan to buy a Christmas mug. It was a
Kaufman family tradition to set out a mug of milk
and a letter for Santa Claus, as well as carrots for
the reindeer, on Christmas Eve.
Another family tradition was to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“We laughed when we watched the movie with
Josh. He had every line memorized and spoke out
loud with each character,” Robin says.
A few days before Christmas, physicians at BarnesJewish Hospital proposed another bone marrow
transplant, this time with an unrelated donor. But
one night, at home, Josh’s calf muscles tightened.
Over the next few hours, the pain became excruciating.
On Christmas Eve, he was taken to Missouri Baptist
Medical Center. They ran some tests and sent him
home with pain medication.
On Christmas Day, Josh called his parents. The
pain was unbearable and he could not walk. At his
request, the Kaufmans packed up some of Josh
and Megan’s Christmas presents and followed
Josh’s ambulance back to Missouri Baptist Medical
Center.
“We thought it was just another bump in the road,”
Robin says.
During the morning of Dec. 26, Josh’s blood pressure plummeted and he lapsed into a coma. He
was in the ICU on a respirator, and there would be
no rally this time. Dr. Bolger told the Kaufmans,
“Josh will let us know when it is time to quit.”
“I am so grateful that we never had to tell Josh to
give up,” Robin says. “Mike and I talked about it
many times, and we didn’t know how we would
do that.”
On Dec. 27, Josh died at the age of 23.
“You have to take what you’re given and do the
best you can,” Robin says. “We lived our lives the
best way we knew how. I don’t want people to feel
sorry for me. I feel very lucky to have had the time
I had with Josh. I witnessed a beautiful life for 23
years.”
“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many
other lives. . .”
- Clarence, “It’s a Wonderful Life”
In Memory & Honor of
Josh W. Kaufman
Thank you to everyone that supports the JWK Golf Tournament!
We appreciate everything!