John P. Wolff, 92

May 07, 2024

John P. Wolff passed away at age 92 on May 7, 2024, surrounded by family.

Born in Aachen, Germany, as the son of the late Berthold Wolff and Eva Löwenstein. John was the loving husband of 66 years of the late Jeannette (McEwen) Wolff. Father of Barry Wolff and his wife Bonnie (Smead) Wolff, David Wolff and his wife Ilaina Meisler, and Joel Wolff and his wife Penny Shultz. Grandfather of Brian Wolff and his partner, Alyssa (Wolff) Fitzpatrick and her husband, and Michael Wolff.

His life was greatly affected by growing up Jewish in Stolberg, Germany prior to World War II. Early on into World War II, John and his parents went into hiding in different locations in Belgium. John, under an assumed name, converted to Catholicism to continue his schooling. John’s father was a well-respected businessman, who while detained twice during the war, was ultimately released unharmed and returned to hiding. Today, there is a park in Stolberg, Germany named after his father. Later in life he documented some of his family’s life, shared his life experience with public school children as they studied The Diary of Anne Frank and helped translate a variety of documents from German into English.

Stateless after the war, John emigrated to the United States with his mother in 1947, sponsored by his aunt, where he attended school and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He worked at RCA, first in New Jersey, then in Pennsylvania, for many years. He also met his wife Jeannette at RCA. Only after his marriage, was he able to start living a “normal” life and the “American Dream”. By the start of his working career, he had become agnostic. By the time he retired, John was an Atheist. Retiring early provided him with over 35 years to be actively involved in all his political and hobby interests. John spent much of his life fighting intolerance, advocating for human rights and maintaining the separation of church and state. He was an avid bird watcher, photographer, gardener, and shell collector.

John was a longtime member of many organizations, including: CenPenn Beachcombers, Muhlenberg Botanical Society, American Atheists, PA Nonbelievers, Central PA Rationalists, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Lancaster County Bird Club, Lancaster County Conservancy and the Lancaster Camera Club.

He and Jeannette often served as officers of these clubs, and invited members to their house for meetings and picnics. Friends greatly appreciated his willingness to share his knowledge, edit documents, translate languages, and be a mentor. One author he helped with editing even named a shell after him.

There will be no services, as his body was donated to science.

Donations in his name can be made to Amnesty International of the USA, Inc.
Amnesty International of the USA, Inc.
and/or The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy

He is greatly missed by all his family and friends.