Calvin Jacob Kaufman

1920 - 2016  (96 years)

• Name	Calvin Jacob Kaufman
  Born	1920
  Gender	Male
  Interesting	life story, character
  Residence	1960	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-181509
  Died	24 Aug 2016
  Person ID	I181509	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Franklin Arthur Kaufman,   b. 31 Mar 1888, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1960  (Age 71 years)
  Mother	Gertrude "Gertie" Myers,   b. 21 Jan 1887, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 20 Nov 1943  (Age 56 years)
  Family ID	F229441	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Calvin Kaufman image from Facebook 2014

  
  

• Notes

  Calvin used to own a car that he has rigged up with Christmas lights inside (saw it at the junkyard), and used to ride a bike for many years, until it was crunched by a car. Though he was pretty well off financially, he never replaced either. Walks and sleeps outside in the summer, walks and sleeps in hotels in the winter. Used to get the same room at the Kress in Preston. Facebook January 9, 2014 _______________________ We lost a real legend': Calvin Kaufman, known as the Wizard, dies at 95 WATERLOO REGION A "kind and gentle soul" affectionately known as the Wizard has died at age 95. "We lost a real legend," Kitchener lawyer Hal Mattson said of Calvin Kaufman. "The Wizard was sort of the last character in Kitchener-Waterloo. We don't have characters like that anymore." Over the years, thousands of motorists saw Kaufman stooped and with his head down walking or pushing his bicycle each day along the streets of Kitchener and Waterloo. He often covered 10 kilometres a day. In his travels, Kaufman spoke to almost no one. Mattson frequently saw the dishevelled man, wearing oversize work boots, pushing his bicycle up the Freeport hill. "Every time I went to Cambridge court and every time I'd come in from Toronto, you'd see the Wizard going up and down the hill, trudging along in the middle of summer with two winter jackets on and a hat." Although Mattson never spoke to Kaufman, the lawyer had a soft spot in his heart for him. He even announced to a judge in assignment court that the Wizard had recently died. Many people hadn't seen Kaufman in years. Jeff Hannusch, a New Orleans writer who lived in Kitchener until 1978, said Kaufman lived in a room above the Grand Union Hotel on King Street in Kitchener in the 1960s. "I used to see him on King Street a lot," he said. "He had one of those Pee-wee Herman bikes. It was kind of decked out with mirrors and streamers. Most baby boomers who still live in Kitchener would still remember the bicycle." Hannusch worked part-time for three or four years at Waterloo Metal Stampings on Manitou Drive. "The Wizard worked there," he said. "He ran the tumbler. He would shovel metal parts into a big barrel and then shovel in sawdust and it would rotate and it would take the sharp points off. "When we would have lunch or breaks, he would get something out of the vending machines, but he would never sit in the break room. He would go back to the tumbler and sit there. All the years I knew him, I never heard his voice once. He was really reclusive, I guess." Hannusch did not recall the Wizard's real name. "When Hal (Mattson) called me and told me Calvin Kaufman had died, I said, 'I don't know who the hell you're talking about.' He went on and on and I said, 'Oh, you mean the Wizard?' I said, 'Ya, hell I knew the Wizard really well.' Well, I didn't know him, I knew of him. "He seemed like a nice guy. He was a little bit off the wall, but he was like a character." Mattson said as far as characters go, Kaufman was right up there with Frank Groff, an unpaid crossing guard and eccentric who became affectionately known as the Bridgeport General. Groff, who lived in a rundown house and always wore rubber boots, several sweaters and a raincoat, died in 1978. In the 1990s, Kaufman received a $900 monthly pension and lived in a Kitchener motel. Michael Barlow, a counsellor in Waterloo, believes he once lived in Homer Watson Park in Kitchener. In later years, he apparently lived in Cambridge. A longtime runner, Barlow said that years ago he used to see Kaufman all the time. "I tried for like five years to get him to say hello to me," but Kaufman said nothing. "He didn't really speak to anyone. I tried, but he'd just give me a friendly little smirk." A Record reporter managed to get Kaufman to answer some questions back in 1993. "I'm a respectable bum," he said. "That means I don't drink or smoke or do pot." A lifelong bachelor who was born and raised in Kitchener, Kaufman was an electrician before his disdain for authority made him chuck it all. "Some people have a problem with the way I live," he told the reporter. "They think I should live the way they do. Self-appointed dictators, that's all they are." In the 1990s, Kaufman followed a strict routine. Early each morning, he would walk several kilometres to catch a Kitchener bus. He would go to malls, do some shopping, maybe visit a friend downtown. Then he hopped on another bus in the evening and made the long walk home. "I don't like sitting in one place all day," he told the reporter. "If you don't walk six miles a day, you won't get to sleep at night." Barlow recalls seeing Kaufman pushing his "electrified" bike '97 loaded with lights '97 up and down King Street in both Waterloo and Kitchener. "He pushed it from the far end of Waterloo to Freeport. He was probably the first LRT," he said with a laugh. "A cheaper version." Why was he called the Wizard? "He had sort of a weather-beaten face," Barlow said. "He had kind of a quirky look. He almost looked like Merlin." Barlow described Kaufman as "very regimented, quiet, reserved, not one to bother with people, pretty introverted, generally wouldn't hurt a flea, peaceful man." Kaufman, who died on Aug. 24, was "a Christian man who lived life to the fullest," his obituary says. "Calvin spent his life being kindhearted and generous. Walking was his passion and he made many friends along the way." "I met Calvin as young police officer walking the beat in Kitchener in the late '70s," Philip Neville wrote in the online guest book included with Kaufman's obituary. "Calvin was a kind and gentle soul who walked quietly into our lives and will always be remembered by many." His obituary says memorial donations to the Cambridge Humane Society would be appreciated. He is survived by nieces and nephews. gpaul@therecord.com , Twitter: @GPaulRecord ___________________ KAUFMAN, Calvin JULY 20, 1921 \endash AUGUST 24, 2016 A Christian man who lived life to the fullest has gone to be with his Lord. Calvin spent his life being kind hearted and generous. Walking was his passion and he made many friends along the way. He will be greatly missed by his best friends Sharon and Kristen and family who adopted him and loved him dearly. Always remembered by many nieces, nephews and friends, also loved by his two predeceased brothers Arthur and Wilson. Memorial donations to the Cambridge Humane Society would be appreciated. Cremation has taken place and a Private Memorial Service will be held at a later date. Friends and relatives are invited to sign Calvin's online book of condolences at: www.couttsfuneralhome.com Calvin Kaufman Obituary - Cambridge, ON. (2023). Retrieved 22 January 2023, from https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/cambridge-on/calvin-kaufman-7061351

  
  

• Event Map

  Residence - 1960 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth