Obituary of Paul Kuepferle

Paul Louis Kuepferle of Mendham, NJ, died at his home on October 28 after a short illness. He was 73.

Born in Morristown, he was a lifelong resident of Mendham except for his time abroad. He graduated from West Morris Regional High School in Chester, where he was a pitcher on the baseball
team and played trumpet in the concert band. He was also an excellent golfer.

Paul attended Ithaca College, graduating cum laude in 1972 as a history major. He spent a year abroad at Loyola University (Chicago), Rome Center, and that time seems to have whetted his appetite for more foreign exploits. He decided to travel to India, became interested in Hindu philosophy and religion, was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study it, and earned the Indian equivalent of a PhD in that country.

He spent almost 18 years in India, the vast majority of that time in the holy city of Benares on the Ganges. He traveled extensively around the country. Paul was also an accomplished amateur photographer and took wonderful pictures of Indian life and culture.

Paul wrote and produced, in collaboration with partners such as the BBC and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, TV and video documentaries about Hindu religion and philosophy. He was the editor of a section of the ongoing project “The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies.”

Paul was pre-deceased by his parents, Sig and Marie (“Dottie”) Kuepferle. He is survived by three first cousins: Susan (Meyer) Yawger of Morris Plains, NJ, Mary Ann (Robinson) Warner of Frenchtown, NJ, and Charles Robinson of Morristown, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Mendham Borough Police Department.

Paul will be interred at Hilltop Cemetery in Mendham on Saturday, June 22, at 11 AM.