The American Gas Association was deeply saddened to learn that Bruce G. Kauffmann, former AGA editorial director and director of communications, passed away July 18.
Kauffmann joined AGA in 2001, bringing with him a reverence for writing honed by his family, who, on his father’s side, was an owner of the Washington Evening Star, once the premier daily newspaper in Washington, D.C. The impact of Kauffmann’s journalism background and training on the association and the natural gas industry was widespread.
Kauffmann was renowned at AGA as a pillar of collaboration and innovation. AGA general counsel Michael Murray recalled his thoughtfulness and humor, noting Kauffmann was “gracious in a fine and understated manner. I am so thankful I knew him.”
Former AGA Vice President of Policy Analysis Chris McGill said, “For those of us fortunate to work with him, we knew his passion for the written word and accuracy and truth.”
“You can imagine the challenge he had editing an engineer’s writing—always with that gentle touch and humor,” AGA Chief Operating Officer Lori Traweek recalled. “To this day, I can’t write something without thinking about Bruce’s grammatical guidance.” It was also Kauffman who took the lead on profiling AGA's new board chairs, providing "a deeper dive into their personalities, capturing the essence of what drove them as gas utility leaders, leaders in their community and leaders of the industry," says Traweek. And, as speechwriter for AGA member and staff executives, he was "masterful at conveying our message in an effective way that resonated with the audience."
It is fitting that Kauffmann’s creations would endure, as he was a lifelong history fanatic. While at AGA, he combined his longstanding passion and professional prowess to create “Bruce’s History Lessons,” a weekly history column that appeared in 25 newspapers across the country and online at the peak of its popularity. “He started the column because he wanted to find an entertaining and concise way to get people as interested in history as he was,” his daughter, Remy Kauffmann, told the Observer-Reporter.
“Bruce’s History Lessons” became Kauffmann’s full-time job following his retirement until he died at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, at age 72, after a brief battle with cancer.
Outside of his work for the natural gas industry and his history column, Kauffmann was a motorcycle enthusiast who rode “his Harley Road King until he became too weak from the chemo,” Remy Kauffmann said.
McGill counts himself among those who were lucky enough to play and laugh with Kauffmann outside of work: “His first words to me whenever we started a road trip were ‘You lead, I’ll follow.’”
Painting a picture of their many motorcycle journeys, McGill said, “We could visit a vintage motorcycle museum one day and the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, the next. We often added barbecue and baseball and may have even sat at a table where Tommy Lasorda dined over and over when the Dodgers were in St. Louis. We saw Mount Rushmore and even bison in South Dakota’s Custer State Park. But just as memorable were moments like sitting on the shore of Traverse Bay in Michigan and experiencing the sunset.”
Teaching all who knew him through his writing and faithful attention to history, Kauffmann is an integral part of AGA’s story. McGill said it best: “He was an engaging, trusting man who produced the best version of those around him.”
A beloved father, husband and sibling, Kauffmann is survived by Remy; another daughter, Joanna Kauffmann; his wife, Judith Harmatz; two brothers; and two sisters.