Nancy Brenda Kaufman, 1938 -- 2023

Orange County attorney Nancy B. Kaufman, remembered for an unwavering dedication to social justice, passed away May 28, surrounded by her family at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Woodland Hills. She was 84.

Kaufman was born on July 16, 1938, in Manhattan, New York, and grew up in North Bergen and Teaneck, New Jersey. Her niece, Gretchen Petersen, said Kaufman moved to Venice Beach to work as a social worker in the 1960s after graduating from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA.

"She chose to go to law school at a time when female attorneys faced pervasive prejudice in the legal profession," Peterson wrote in an email. "She attended Southwestern Law School at night while working full-time and raising two children on her own, and graduated near the top of her class in 1972."

Kaufman was one of only a handful of women at Southwestern. After graduation, she went to work at Legal Aid Society of Orange County, where she became an expert in eviction defense. Ultimately she became the managing attorney and met her life partner, Edwin Printemps.

In 1980, the couple opened their own law firm in Santa Ana, Printemps & Kaufman.

Kaufman frequently represented the disadvantaged and unheard, including tenants who faced unfair eviction, victims of discrimination and constitutional violations, and victims of personal injury.

In her personal life, Nancy was a dearly beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, and life partner, Peterson wrote.

"She was a uniquely magnetic and upbeat person, abundantly creative and gifted with a never-ending sense of wonder. She always maintained her cheer and sense of humor, even when suffering physically and after facing immense personal losses," Peterson said. "Nancy will be very dearly missed."

Kaufman is preceded in death by Edwin Printemps. She is survived by her son Dan Kaufman and daughter-in-law Kenyetta Kaufman, daughter Abra Sonnanstine, granddaughters Rivka Stringer and Lirit Whitaker, great-granddaughter Thalia Whitaker, and brother Lewis Korn.

A memorial for close friends and family was held on June 3 in Agoura Hills.