FRANK KAFKER

KAFKER--Frank Arthur, passed away in Dedham, Massachusetts on April 1, due to complications arising from Parkinson's disease. He was a distinguished scholar of French history, specializing in the French Revolution and the Encyclopedie. Professor Kafker taught at the University of Cincinnati for 36 years. Along with his colleague James Laux, he was the editor of French Historical Studies from 1985 to 1992, and the author of many books including: The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations, and Napoleon and His Times. His last book, The Early Britannica, was written with his friend, Professor Jeff Loveland. Born in Brooklyn, Frank received his bachelor's and master's degrees and PhD in history from Columbia University. He was also a Fulbright scholar in France from 1954-55. Professor Kafker is survived by his soul mate and spouse, Serena Kafker. They met at the Arista honor society at Samuel Tilden High School in Brooklyn when he was sixteen and she was fifteen, and it was love at first sight. For the rest of Frank's life, they were inseparable, playing tennis, writing books such as The Encyclopedists as Individuals, and raising a family together. Frank is also survived by his sons, Scott Kafker, who is an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and Roger Kafker, who is a senior advisor to TA Associates and a trustee of Haverford College, his daughters-in-law Lea Anne Copenhefer and Dawn Kafker, his grandsons, Andrew, Nicholas, Matthew and Michael Kafker, and his sister, Ruth Ketover. A gentleman and a scholar, Frank will continue to live in the hearts of his loving family and many friends.