Richard Martin Wolfe

Richard Martin Wolfe, born in Columbus, Ohio on August 11, 1933, died in Ibiza, Spain, on July 5, 2022. "Dick" Wolfe was a prominent communications engineer, businessman, supporter of the arts, and advocate for mental health. A 1951 graduate of Bexley High School, he studied Electrical Engineering at The Ohio State University. He joined the United States Army Signal Corps and served overseas. Dick had a meritorious career in telecommunications, working for WBNS-TV and Radio. He was an avid volunteer in the community with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, on fundraising boards, and on multiple health boards including Franklin County Mental Health Association, Mid-Ohio Health Planning Federation, and Maryhaven. He was an early supporter of NORML and was a driving force behind the 1976 Ohio Drug Abuse and Controlled Substances Act, which lightened the penalties for possession of marijuana for personal use. In the late 70s, Richard moved to California where he worked as Vice President of Video Technology for 20th Century Fox. His consulting firm Hi-Vision America partnered with NHK in Japan to bring HDTV to the USA. He was an active member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Society of Broadcast Engineers, and the Audio Engineering Society. More recently, he engaged in the vibrant arts communities of San Francisco, CA, and Ibiza, Spain. Preceded in death by his parents, Richard Stanton Wolfe, Elizabeth Martin (Wolfe) McCalmont, and his brother Bruce Fowler Wolfe. He is survived by his wife, Claudia, his daughters Lucy Wolfe and Elizabeth Wolfe Hamrick (John), and four grandchildren, Maximilian Schmitz, Sarah Schmitz, Richard Hamrick, and Alexander Hamrick. The family plans a memorial to celebrate his life to be announced at a later date.