JOHN LLOYD WOLFF JR.

1923 - 2013

JOHN LLOYD WOLFF JR. - SOUTH BURLINGTON - John Lloyd Wolff Jr., 90, died in South Burlington on Nov. 10, 2013. He was born June 7, 1923, on a dairy farm in western Pennsylvania near Greensburg, to Lloyd and Nellie Seanor Wolff. The dairy farm had been his paternal grandfather's, A.T. Wolff. He attended public schools in Salem Township and Greensburg, Pa. He graduated from Greensburg High School in Greensburg in June 1940. While in high school, he attended the 4-H Leadership School at Pennsylvania State University and served as President of the Westmoreland County 4H Club Council. He entered Carnegie Institute of Technology, now called Carnegie Mellon, in Pittsburgh, Pa., in September 1940, on a National George Westinghouse Scholarship Award, majoring in physics and mathematics. After graduating in December 1943 with a B.S. in physics and mathematics, he enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy. After serving for two years as the Search Radar Officer on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42), he retired from the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant Senior Grade and returned to Carnegie Mellon to start his graduate work for a master's degree in electrical engineering, graduating in May 1947. During this period, he also served as an instructor in the Physics Department at Carnegie Tech. When the Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory was formed in Pittsburgh, he was assigned to the Instrumentation and Control Department to develop computations capability for the United States Atomic Energy Commission in the design and development of the nation's first nuclear power submarine, the Nautilus. He later became the Manager of Computation for the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory working on nuclear reactors for the super carrier CVB-42 (Franklin D. Roosevelt), and other ships and submarines. He retired in 1984 from Westinghouse and relocated from the Pittsburgh area to Chicago, Ill., where he managed the computations laboratories for Fluor Pioneer, and then Sargeant and Lundy Engineers. In 1988, he retired to Burlington, Vt., where his oldest son, Dr. John L. Wolff III, and family lived. While working for Westinghouse, he received the Westinghouse Citizenship Award for outstanding community service. His activities in the Delmont/Greensburg area included serving three four-year terms on the Greensburg Salem School Board; member and President of the Delmont Lions Club; member of Delmont Recreation Commission; member of the Delmont 125th Anniversary Committee; member of 4-H Commission Board; and Scouting activities. During his collegiate work, he was awarded membership in a number of scholastic and social honoraries including Tau Beta Pi, Pi Delta Epsilon, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, Scimitar and Delta Skull Societies, Eta Kappa Nu, as well as participating in other campus activities such as playing trombone in the Kiltie Marching Band, Student Government, Intra Fraternity Council and President of Delta Tau Delta Social Fraternity. John married Jacqueline M. Moyer in 1945, she predeceased him in 1994, with whom he raised four children. He is survived by his four children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, Jacqueline "Jill" Wolff Bruno Hatzis and husband, Gus, and her sons, Jay and Jeb, of Shelton, Conn.; Dr. John Wolff III and wife, Karen, of South Burlington, and their son, Matthew, of South Burlington, their son, Mark and mate, Erika Irish, of California, their granddaughters, Jacqueline and Lilliana, and their mother, Sarah Kaplan, of South Burlington; Dr. Jeffry M. Wolff and wife, Jill, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and their daughters, Katherine and husband, Dr. Matthew Straum, of Pittsburgh, Pa., Elise and husband, Brendan, of Berkely, Calif., and Jessica and fiance, Michael Heiken, of Boston, Mass.; and Lynn Wolff Newton and husband, David Newton, of Boston, Mass., Sugarbush, Vt., and Brookfield, N.H. He was predeceased by his grandson, John Wolff IV, son of Dr. John Wolff III and his wife, Karen. He is also survived by Dr. Janet P. Brown, whom he married in 1997, and her children and grandchildren, J. Casey Gershon and husband, Dr. Richard, their son, Matthew and mate, Brooke VanDusen, and their son, Oliver, of Kalamazoo, Mich.; James Brown and wife, Elizabeth, and their children, Rachel and Joshua, of Essex Junction; Samuel Brown III and wife, Deana, and their children, Samantha and Joshua, of St. Albans; and Anthony Brown and wife, Margaret, and their daughter, Tara, of Colchester. He was an active member of the First Congregational Church of Burlington, having served as Chairman of the Stewardship Committee, and the Fort Myers Congregational United Church of Christ of Fort Myers, Fla., where he enjoyed being a member of the adult choir. He served as a substitute driver of Meals on Wheels in Burlington. Visiting hours will be held at the Ready Funeral and Cremation Service South Chapel, Burlington, on Nov. 18, 2013, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral services will be held on Nov. 19, 2013, at 1 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, So. Winooski Avenue, Burlington. A reception will follow at John and Janet's home, 35 Victoria Drive in South Burlington. The interment will be held later at the Congruity Church Cemetery, Salem Township, Pa., date and time will be determined by the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in John's memory to the Delmont Lions Club, PO Box 52, Delmont, PA 15626.