Bertha and Luther moved the family to Vinita where they ran the general store. Barbara graduated from Vinita High School in 1952, and she married James A. Griffin in November of that year. During their 45 year marriage they were blessed with two daughters, Cathy Lynn and Janet Kay. For the early years in Pryor, Jim taught history and driver's education and Barbara was a stay-at-home Mom caring for both girls until they moved to Oklahoma City in 1968, where she worked at The University of Oklahoma in the Department of Medicine, Department of Surgery, and finally as Administrative Assistant in the Department of Neurosurgery, where she retired in 1990.
She and Jim then moved to Bangor, Pennsylvania, where they joined Dr. Stewart Wolf at the Totts Gap Institute, a medical research facility. For seven years until Jim's death, they were able to travel worldwide while accompanying Dr. Wolf on his speaking engagements.
On February 14, 1998, Barbara married Dr. Wolf and they lived in Bangor and Oklahoma City until Stewart's death in 2005.
Family has always been the foundation and strength for Barbara. She spent the majority of her life as a caregiver not only to both of her parents and her husbands, but also her oldest daughter. In 2017, she was diagnosed with breast cancer which eventually metastasized to the bone in 2019. She was placed on hospice August 22, 2023, and died a week later on August 29.
She was preceded in death by both her parents; her siblings Ora, Cecil, Allene, Nancile, Truman, Harold, Herman, and Bill; her oldest daughter Cathy; her first grandson Timothy Warren Powell and both of her husbands. She is survived by her daughter Janet Holt and son-in-law Robert of Edmond, Oklahoma, her grandson James Arthur Young of Allen, Texas, his wife Heather, and Barbara's four beautiful great grandchildren Kylie Jane, Addisyn Belle, Lily Grace and Kadyn James. She is survived as well by dozens of nieces and nephews scattered throughout Oklahoma and the United States. She is known by many simply as Nawnie. A visitation for Barbara will be held Thursday, September 7, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper Funeral Home, 6600 Broadway Extension, Oklahoma City, OK 73116. A funeral service will occur Friday, September 8, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper Chapel, 6600 Broadway Extension, Oklahoma City, OK 73116.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hahncookfuneral.com for the Wolf (Nawnie) family.
Anyone interested in making a charitable contribution in Barbara’s memory is encouraged to consider adding to that endowment. Contributions can be made to:
Cathy Lynn Griffin Endowed Marching Band Scholarship
Fund #22-00170
Oklahoma State University Foundation
400 S. Monroe Street
Stillwater, OK 74074
