Joyce G. Kaufman, a noted Bucks County restaurateur, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021, at her home. She was 96 years old.
In 1972 Joyce and her late husband, Brooks D. Kaufman, opened the Inn at Phillips Mill in New Hope (Solebury Township). They took a barn and former school adjacent to their residence and created a fine restaurant and a Bucks County destination. Brooks, a successful architect, oversaw the transformation from barn to restaurant. Once opened their endeavor became a showcase for Joyce’s many talents. Joyce loved preparing simple but delicious meals. The warm welcome her family and friends had always enjoyed at her home became the hallmark of the restaurant. Joyce maintained the same high standard in the kitchen, assuring the Inn at Phillips Mill its excellent culinary reputation. Joyce and Brooks later established the Tattersall Inn, a bed and breakfast in Point Pleasant, PA.
Born in Altoona, PA, Joyce met Brooks in the summer of 1942 shortly before he joined the war effort, serving as a Marine pilot in the South Pacific. They married on his return in 1947. Together they moved around the country for Brooks’ new innovative career as a licensed commercial helicopter pilot (one of the first in the country) for Bell Aircraft.
Joyce’s early career endeavors were in fashion modeling and working in book stores. She was an avid reader with special interests in English mysteries, politics and history. She enjoyed traveling around the country and loved the opportunities that came with Brooks’ work. Eventually the couple returned to Pennsylvania and made their home in Bucks County. An avid animal lover, Joyce bred and raised Burmese cats. She loved her home and garden. Together she and Brooks made quite a team.
Joyce was the wife of the late Brooks D. Kaufman; the daughter of the late Charles W, and Edith Lefebvre Crump and the sister of the late Earl Crump (a World War 2 casualty), Edna Gleichert, Lina Kane and Beulah Rohnstock. She is survived by her nephew Henry C. Kane and her niece Karen Sigler.
Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at 11 am at the Van Horn-McDonough Funeral Home, 21 York Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530 (vhmfh.com).
There will be calling hours at the funeral home Tuesday morning from 9:30 am until the start of services.
Donations in Joyce’s memory may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 96860, Washington, DC 20077-7677 (uso.org) or to Fisherman’s Mark, 37 S. Main Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530 (info@fishermansmark.org).
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