WOLFF, WARD, PAGE, SOLOMON

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Friday, September 01, 2006 at 05:19:05 :

San Francisco Chronicle
Thursday, August 9, 2001
D2

WOLFF, George Jr. -- Retired insurance executive and fourth generation San Franciscan, died in his home in Healdsburg on Tuesday, August 7. He was 80. The son of Jean Ward Wolff and George Wolff, and grandson of Dr. Florence Nightingale Ward, one of the first female physicians in San Francisco, George and his wife, Joy, have lived in Healdsburg for the last ten years where they have been active in the community and the local wine industry. Born and raised in San Francisco, George attended Grant School and Galileo High School and, upon his family moving to Marin County, graduated from the Tamalpais School for Boys. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1943 with a degree in economics where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He then commenced highly distinguished service in the U.S. Navy, serving as a gunnery officer on the cruiser U.S.S. Minneapolis in most of the major naval engagements of the Second World War in the Pacific theater from 1943 until 1945. He concluded his wartime duty as an officer on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise. George started his business career with John Deere Company, the farm machinery manufacturer, in various sales and marketing positions in Stockton and the San Joaquin Valley and ultimately back to San Francisco. He later entered the insurance brokerage industry where he continued to work with farm machinery dealers throughout the west. He served with a number of brokerage firms, including Alexander & Alexander. He retired in 1991 and moved to Healdsburg, where he was able to reconnect with agriculture as a winegrower. He was an active member of the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley and a tireless volunteer in their annual Passport event, and on the board of the Wine Library Associates of Sonoma County. An avid tennis enthusiast and hiker, George was active in a number of civic and philanthropic organizations. He served as president of the UC Berkeley alumni class of 1943 for many years, was vice president of the Lagunitas Country Club and a member of the Olympic Club. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Joy; brother Warren of San Rafael; two children, Ward of Greenbrae and Anne Wolff Page of San Francisco; daughter-in-law Polly Nicolaus Wolff, son-in-law Charles Hall Page; and five grandchildren, John and Natalie Solomon, and Caroline, Stephanie and Ward Wolff. A Memorial Service will be held at St. John's Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, corner of Arguello and Lake Streets, on Tuesday, August 14, at 11:00 am. The family requests that donations be made to the Northern Sonoma Health Care Foundation (NSHF) for the benefit of Healdsburg General Hospital, P.O. Box 1025, Healdsburg, CA 95448.