Mary Wolfe

1931 - 2014

WOLFE

Mary Tebbetts



Mary Tebbetts Wolfe was born in a snowstorm in New Hampshire on Christmas Day in 1931. She died of a stroke on October 23, 2014, in Toledo, Ohio, surrounded by her husband of 60 years, her daughters and friends. Over the course of her 82 years, she lived a productive and beautiful life, fueled by her magnificent passion for art and her joie de vivre.

Mary and her younger brother, Lee, were gently nurtured by their mother, Elizabeth McAllaster Tebbetts, a loving, energetic and artistic woman and their father, Stanley Wentworth Tebbetts, a deeply spiritual and thoughtful man. Mary attended the Packer Collegiate School in Brooklyn Heights, NY, took classes at Columbia University, and loved to spend time in Manhattan's many museums. When Mary was 17, her father died unexpectedly, and her family moved from Dobbs Ferry, NY to Manchester, NH where she finished her high school career at Manchester Central High. While Mary studied at this school, Bob Montana, the artist for the Archie Comics, spotted her and drew his character "Veronica" after her likeness.

Mary attended Wellesley College (class of 1954) where she studied art and humanities. She excelled in art history, inspired by her favorite professors, John McAndrew and Sydney Freedberg. They encouraged her to expand her natural talents and ambitions to study art beyond her baccalaureate degree.

After graduating from Wellesley, Mary married Yale graduate Frederic "Fritz" Wolfe in her family's historic church in Bedford, New Hampshire. The newlyweds moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts while Fritz finished his last year at the Harvard Business School. Upon Fritz's graduation, they relocated to Northwest Ohio so that Fritz could take advantage of promising business opportunities.

The young couple established their new home in Lima, Ohio, where Fritz grew his successful business ventures. Soon Mary and Fritz expanded their family with three daughters, Elizabeth, Frederica, and Christine. Mary was very proud of her girls, referring to them as "The Three Graces," as depicted in Sandro Botticelli's renowned painting, La Primavera.

Mary's thirst for knowledge of the arts inspired her to enroll in Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio to earn a Master's degree in History of Art and Painting, which she received in 1968. After she graduated, the University recruited her to teach its survey course in History of Art, as well as Art of the Renaissance. She taught at BGSU for eight years, and her animated lectures became very popular with hundreds of students. After teaching, she was the director of the McFall Arts Center in the BGSU President's building, where she curated four shows a year for five years. Later, in 2006, BGSU awarded Mary an honorary doctorate degree.

While juggling her teaching career and family responsibilities, she also assumed an important role in community leadership. By then the Wolfe family relocated to the Toledo area and Fritz became increasingly successful in establishing his business in the long-term healthcare industry.

Both Mary and Fritz began to serve on arts agency boards and educational institutions, contributing to a growing arts renaissance in Northwest Ohio. The Wolfe family participated financially in sizable projects, such as the new Contemporary Art Gallery at the Toledo Museum of Art. At Bowling Green State University, Mary helped to found The Medici Circle, an arts advocacy group, which continues today thirty years later. At the same time, Mary served as a trustee at her daughters' school, Maumee Valley Country Day School. She eventually provided funds for the Wolfe Gallery, built to further the school's engagement with art. She also founded the Maumee Valley "Dream Odyssey Award" grants that support faculty and staff to pursue their dreams. For many years, Mary served as the WGTE Art Reporter with a weekly show that reviewed art events and shows in Northwestern Ohio. She lectured with the Chief Executives Organization, the Wellesley Club and the Lost Tree Club, as well as at museums around the world. Mary also worked as an art consultant for various businesses, including her husband's health care facilities. Mary continued her arts advocacy on the Ohio Arts Council board. She served for three terms of four years each, where she received the prestigious Ohio Governor's Award for Arts Philanthropy in 2011.

At Bowling Green State University, Mary and Fritz seeded a magnificent, multi-disciplinary educational center for visual arts, music, theater, film and literature. They helped select Snohetta, a world-renowned, Norwegian architectural firm, to design the structure. Mary and Fritz worked to persuade other donors to contribute. Before long, the vibrant Wolfe Center for the Arts in Bowling Green was built, raising BGSU's profile on the global arts scene.

Mary was elected to the Alliance of Artists' Communities board, located in Providence, RI where she supported and advised individual artists' residencies to advance new works. In 2011, her exemplary work was recognized by the creation of the Mary T. Wolfe Catalyst Award at the School of the Art Institute in Boston. The award sums up her contributions well: "This award recognizes individuals who have had an outstanding impact on artists and the arts in their communities; who have dedicated extraordinary time, resources, and energy on behalf of artists; and who have inspired policy and philanthropy in support of the arts. The impact Mary Wolfe has had on the arts is profound. As an advocate, supporter, leader and shaper of arts policy, Mary is truly a catalyst for changing the face of the art community in Ohio and beyond. Mary is also committed to furthering the success of individual artists. An artist herself, Mary's position as an Art History teacher at Bowling Green State University allowed her the opportunity to meet and help students on an individual level, as well as create a scholarship that supports students in many areas of the arts. Through her roles as a volunteer and board member for the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, the University of Toledo, the Maumee Valley Country Day School, the National Committee on the Whitney Museum of Art, the Ohio Arts Council, and the Alliance of Artists Communities, Mary has created a tremendous artistic legacy and has become a leading voice for arts support across the state of Ohio, the region, and the country."

Being with Mary was an exciting adventure. Her love of world travel and the arts stimulated her curious mind, always striving towards new and unknown avenues in art and life. Mary took joy in and was knowledgeable about the finest things of life, always savoring beauty. She loved her six grandchildren, John, Christopher, Caroline, Macallaster, Olivia and Mary, and made sure to spend at least one whole day with them every year, doing special things that they could share together. Mary enjoyed reading a range of literature, and loved putting her feet up to watch great movies, eat popcorn, and laugh. She loved to laugh with friends and family. We will miss her exuberance and love her forever.

Mary Tebbetts Wolfe's Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will take place on Sunday, November 30, 2014, from 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Peristyle Classical Concert Hall at the Toledo Museum of Art, 2445 Monroe Street, Toledo, Ohio, (419) 255-8000.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Toledo School of the Arts, c/o David Gierky, 333 14th Street, Toledo, Ohio 43604, (419) 246-8732. Arrangements are being handled by Witzler-Shank Funeral Home, Perrysburg, OH (419-874-3133).