Herbert Marx Wolff, formerly of Edgecomb, died peacefully in his sleep on Dec. 5.
He was born on Nov. 21, 1911, in Trenton, N.J., the son of Robert Wolff and Fanny Oppenheim Wolff. He attended public schools in Trenton, N.J. and graduated from Lafayette College in 1932. He received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Penn., in 1936. Dr. Wolff completed post-graduate study at the University of Pennsylvania. He then undertook advanced obstetrics and gynecology training in Europe, first in Hungary and next at the Rotunda Maternity Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.
World War II began while Dr. Wolff was still studying in Europe, and he volunteered for service in the United States armed forces. He received a commission as a First Lieutenant (later promoted to Captain) in the Army Medical Corp, and was initially assigned to duty in Great Britain. As a doctor assigned to a medical unit attached to the 41st Signal Battalion, Dr. Wolff landed on Utah Beach in France on June 27, 1944. The 41st was one of the first combat support units brought onto the battle-torn beachhead, and his unit continued to provide medical support to the Battalion for the remainder of the war in Europe. He served with the unit until V-E Day, as the Battalion engaged in combat, and fought into Central Europe, until the collapse of the Nazi regime.
While serving at a London hospital, prior to the invasion of France, he worked with a senior operating room nurse who was from Wales. In 1945, before returning to the United States, Dr. Wolff married this nurse, Betty Lilan Jones, and brought his beautiful war bride back to America.
He began his private medical practice in Trenton, N.J., where he specialized in obstetrics and gynecology. From 1946-1982, he practiced medicine, serving families in Trenton, N.J. and delivering numerous babies. He retired from his full-time medical practice in 1983, and continued to perform charitable work until he and Lilan moved to Maine in 1990.
Dr. Wolff was preceded in death by Lilan in 2001, and he moved to Austin, Tex., in 2005.
He is survived by his children, Frances Lylan Wolff of Atlanta, Ga., Robert Jones Wolff and wife Elizabeth Kirshner of Boston, Mass., and Glenys Ann Wolff and husband Howard Wolf of Austin, Tex.; grandchildren, Dylan Jones Wolff, Austin Everett Wolf and Elliott Gavin Wolf; nieces, Susan Kahn Ferry and Emily Kahn; and nephew, Robert Kahn.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Anti-Defamation League (Southwest), Austin, Tex. or to a charity of one’s choice.
