Maria Wolfe

Maria took pride in being the kindergarten teacher the kids never forgot and she easily earned the 1994 “Teacher of the Year” at the Samuel Smith School in Burlington City. Even in her later years, when she encountered any of her previous students, her smile and hugs would convert the toughest teenagers back to their innocent, 6-year-old, loving manner towards her.  Of course, she found her real calling late in life as a loving grandmother “Mom Mom”. She taught the grandchildren to cook (deviled eggs, cookies and egg boats), did crafts, hosted tea parties with apple juice, and maintained a mom-mom post office on the wall next to her refrigerator with all the grandkids’ names. Usually, a note inside with a customary dollar bill, an article or favorite comic and a treat. She never missed a birthday; always a card, always very generous. Maria had crafted an individual relationship with all of them: she accommodated their needs and made the best vacations for all of them. Her happiest moments were when she sat in a room with them, just watching and listening to them laugh and play. As a mom she passed on her values to her kids; Sundays found the family seated in the pews of the Beverly Methodist Church. Her home was full of love, pictures of a life well-lived, the smells of her cooking and the sounds of her singing. Maria cooked everything from scratch and hosted all the holidays and made every occasion special. Some argued she should have been a caterer. She was organized to a fault, she had handwritten directions for everything, labels everywhere and even detailed notes on her recipes.  If she left the house, she was always put together; red lipstick and nails and hair just so. A standout beauty, she flowed into a room; the homecoming queen in her high school days. Of course, it was her loving ways that won people over; Maria never said a harsh word and loved to heap compliments on those around her, reminding everyone how beautiful she thought they were. Her recent memory challenges did not stop her from calling everyone by name. Her love of travel probably dated to her youth when she was an exchange student, staying with nuns in Italy. Her husband also had the same adventure seeking life: they’d take the family cross country  in the family car. The later years found their kids receiving a steady stream of postcards from their many destinations: Italy, France, China, Alaska, Greece. Maria and her husband danced a little ballroom and Maria was known for dancing the jitterbug. She raised her family in Edgewater Park and retired to Leisuretown.

It was love at first sight when she caught the eye of a handsome guy at her best friend’s wedding, Charles Davis Wolfe. The two would share a 52-year marriage blessed by 4 children: Charles “Chiz” (Brenda), Carla (Chris), Lisa Kouhi, and Linda (Andy) Palmer; and later by grandchildren, Amanda, Rebecca, Timothy, Trey, Jenna, Andrew, Kara, Lydia and Nate. She is survived by her sister, Georgia Gilbert and her loving companion, Howie Neilson.

Come celebrate 84 great years Monday January 20, 2025, 9-11 a.m. at Medford United Methodist Church, 2 Hartford Road, Medford where there will be an 11 a.m. service. Interment to follow at Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson. Donations in lieu of flowers to City of Burlington Schools, 518 Locust Avenue, Burlington, NJ 08016 c/o Jaime O’Donnell (please indicate that the contribution is in Maria’s memory) will be appreciated.