Ernest Wolfe Jr.

Ernest Ervin Wolfe, Jr. August 11, 1926 - June 26, 2012 Ernie Wolfe, Jr., father/grandfather extraordinaire, loving husband, businessman, and volunteer nonpareil, has died in Los Angeles on June 26, at the age of 85. Born in Los Angeles, Ernie attended University High School and earned his B.A. from UCLA. At UCLA he was the president of his senior class, 1948, was a member and past president of Delta Sigma Phi, and enlisted in the ROTC program. He completed his OCS naval training at Columbia University with a rank of Lieutenant JG, just missing World War II. In the late 1950s he joined his father, Ernest E. Wolfe, Sr., in the family entrepreneurial venture, then called Wolfe Worldwide Films, a 35 mm travel slide business, which in the mid-1960s evolved into Wolfe Travel and Wolfe Tours. Besides his family, Ernie was especially involved with all things UCLA Bruins, including being the travel agent for many Bruin sporting events, particularly basketball during the heyday of John Wooden?s success. He was among the Founders of Pauley Pavilion, and had season tickets for UCLA Basketball and Football for more than half a century. Starting in college and for many years thereafter, he served as a counselor at UCLA?s Uni Camp in the San Gabriel Mountains. An ardent athlete, Ernie was one of the first practitioners of jogging as a part of his daily life, making sure that he ran whether he was in Beijing, Frankfurt or Nairobi. He loved backpacking, camping, and the outdoors, summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro at the age of 65. Every campsite he left was cleaner than when he arrived. He loved animals, particularly dogs. Ernie never met a dog he couldn't love. His magnanimity and compassion transcended bias and extended equally to all human beings. Ernie was an energetic member of the Westwood Village Rotary Club for upwards of five decades, where he was elected president and honored as Rotarian of the Year. He was a founder at the Westside YMCA at its present Sawtelle location, and for more than two decades made weekly deliveries for Meals on Wheels in West Los Angeles, serving as president of the board for two terms. His passionate dedication to the Westwood United Methodist Church and its charitable outreach was equally robust during his 60 plus years of committed membership and service, most proudly culminating in the successful campaign to renovate the church organ. He was predeceased by his first wife, Clare (1925-1985), the mother of his two adult children. He is survived by his wife, Joy Bennett, her daughter, Jennifer Osborne (Holmes), and granddaughter, Adelaide. He is also survived by his children, Ernie Wolfe III (Diane) and Andrea Phelps (Bill), and his grandchildren, Ernest Wolfe IV, Russell Wolfe, Alexandra Phelps, and Will Phelps (Amanda). In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Meals on Wheels of West Los Angeles, Westwood United Methodist Church, or Westwood Village Rotary Club Foundation. A memorial service will be held at Westwood United Methodist Church, 10497 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024 at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 7, 2012.