Obituary of Patricia Joan Wolf

Patricia Joan Wolf, 81, passed away Tuesday, March 3, 2015 in Chapel Hill, NC. She was born in Fitchburg, MA and was the daughter of the late Izora and George H. Peacock. She grew up in Leominster, MA and Woodmont, CT. She earned a BS in library science at Southern Connecticut State University. Pat met her future husband, Tom, through a mutual interest in sports cars (specifically a white Triumph TR3) and they quickly married. She was passionate about cars, racing at road rallies and time trials for several decades and making many life-long friends through the Wheel and Dash Sports Car Club. Pat was proud of her Mini Cooper S, but dreamed of a Ferrari. She always greeted orange traffic cones with an exclamation of "pylons!" and a desire to slalom between them. She also enjoyed skiing (pre-kids) with the New Haven ski club on the slopes of Vermont, New York, and Europe. Pat's career began as a librarian for the Hartford Medical Society, then at Yale's Hammond Metallurgical Labs, the nuclear fuel division of the Olin Mathieson Company, and the Mathematical Society in Providence RI, and concluded with two decades at the statistics department of Rutgers University. However, her favorite job was that of Mom. She moved to NJ in the 1960s and raised her family there. She was proud and protective of her two daughters. She gifted them with her love. She taught them the value of being independent. She was known for her droll sense of humor and enduring loyalty to family and friends. She, with her husband, moved to Carrboro in 2008, and attended a neighbor's party as soon as the moving van had pulled away. Here she enjoyed her neighborhood book club, movie nights, mahjong, swimming laps at Homestead, and had perfect attendance to biannual block parties. She loved to travel. Pat had a life-long love of the beach, frequently snorkeling during her husband's annual dive vacations to the Caribbean. Europe was often a vacation destination, visiting her in-laws in England, as well as Germany, Austria (a ski honeymoon), and more recently enjoying river cruises. Last year, they went around the world. She, with her husband, enjoyed their summer cottage in the Poconos for many years. She will be remembered for many things, among them, being an avid reader of murder mysteries, her dry wit, teatime on Sundays, baking stollen at Christmas, bowling when the girls were young, and being a gracious and frequent hostess of dinner parties. Pat is survived by her husband of 55 years, Tom; daughter, Susan Wolf and husband Paul Brodish of Carrboro; daughter Lynn Ellen Wolf and husband Eric Braxton of Philadelphia; brother, George Peacock and wife Nancy Dunbar of Mill Valley, CA; grandson Henry Brodish of Carrboro; grandson Myles Braxton of Philadelphia; and nephew, Scott Dunbar of Sacramento. The family will receive visitors at their Carrboro home from 2 to 4 PM on Saturday, March 7. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Doctors without Borders or Heifer International. Walker's Funeral Home of Chapel Hill is honored to serve the Wolf family.