Wife of Sovereign Grace Music's Bob Kauflin dies suddenly during date night
Christian songwriter, author and pastor Bob Kauflin says the sudden death of his wife, Julie Kauflin, has brought him waves of tears and an ache unlike anything he has experienced, but he is seeking comfort in the knowledge that he will one day see her again in Heaven.
The director of Sovereign Grace Music announced in a social media post this week that Julie Kauflin had collapsed as the couple left dinner during their weekly date night on Monday.
“This past Monday was the last day God had written for my precious wife and best friend, Julie,” Kauflin wrote in a Wednesday Facebook post, quoting Psalm 139:16. “She’s home.”
Bob Kauflin, who is a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, recounted that the couple finished dinner and were walking toward their car when his wife’s knees suddenly buckled. After he laid her on the ground and realized she was unresponsive, someone called an ambulance.
At the hospital, Bob Kauflin found a fellow pastor, Brian Chesemore, waiting for him. A doctor later told him that medical personnel were struggling to get Julie Kauflin’s heart working but were doing everything they could.
“He returned not too much later with bad news. They couldn’t revive her,” the pastor wrote. “It was less than 90 minutes after her fall. I went on a date night with Julie and came home a widower.”
The couple married in 1976 and had six children, along with an expanding number of grandchildren, according to Sovereign Grace Music’s biography of Bob Kauflin.
An obituary remembers Julie Kauflin as a "woman of steadfast faith, creative industry, and gracious hospitality" who "poured her life out for those blessed to be her family and friends." She grew up in Northern Virginia, where she was a state champion pony rider. She came to faith in Jesus during her senior year of high school, the year she met her husband.
"They spent the next 50 years building a life together, centered around a love for God, the gospel, and the local church," the obituary reads. "Julie was a lifelong lover of beauty, and over the years joyfully devoted herself to making each house they lived in a home. Everyone who walked through the Kauflins’ door was welcomed with open arms, food in the kitchen, and a seat at the table."
Julie Kauflin's funeral is scheduled for Monday at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville in Kentucky, with a reception to follow.
“The waves of tears and ache are deeper than anything I’ve encountered. But deeper still is the comfort of knowing Julie is rejoicing with the Savior she has always loved,” Bob Kauflin stated. “The Savior who died for her sins, rose for her justification, and is coming again.”
He cited Revelation 21:3–4, which proclaims God's ultimate promise to dwell directly with humanity and abolish suffering, pain and death in the new creation.
“I am so looking forward to that day,” Bob Kauflin said.
In an Aug. 28 Facebook post, Julie Kauflin celebrated the couple’s long marriage, writing, “More in love with this wonderful man than ever! 50 amazing years!”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
