George Thomas Wolff MD

Dr. George Thomas Wolff, 91, died Saturday, October 29, 2016 at his home, surrounded by loved ones. He was born in Greensboro on February 10, 1925 to the late Dr. Denis Roscoe Wolff and Sanford “Sandy” Thomas Wolff.

George graduated from the Asheville School for Boys and went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served in World War II with the U.S. Navy as a medical corpsman aboard destroyer escorts and later as a member of the occupation forces in Japan. Upon returning to UNC-CH he graduated in 1948 and went on to attend Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. In 1949 he married the love of his life, Betty Jeanne Wolfe, who survives him. Also surviving are their four children: Diane Nanny (Bill), Debbe Wolff, Denis Wolff (Sesilia) and George Thomas “Tim” Wolff, Jr (Kathy).

In 1952 George and Betty returned to North Carolina for his residency and he began private practice in Greensboro in 1955. Undoubtedly a large part of his professional success was due to his long-time association with Renie Ledwell-Jefferson, RN. Thank you, Renie.

Among his many accomplishments, he was most proud of his work at the Family Practice Center at Cone Hospital. He served as both Vice-President and Treasurer of the American Academy of Family Physicians. As part of his constant efforts to further the practice of family medicine, he encouraged medical students towards a rewarding career in family practice. In recognition of his lifetime pursuit of the betterment of family medicine, he was honored to be selected as the North Carolina Family Physician of the Year in 1985 and to receive the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from UNC School of Medicine in 1995.

However George’s greatest joy was found in the time he spent at his cottage on Lake Tillery with Betty, their children, and their grandchildren, George Thomas Wolff, III, (Jessica), Taylor Sanford Wolff, Mallory Nanny, Alexi Denis Wolff and Philip Faulkner. In later years they were also joined by their two precious great-grandchildren, Paisley Wolff and George Thomas Wolff, IV.

We would be remiss if we did not mention George’s devotion to his beloved Carolina Tarheels, most particularly the basketball team. We fully expect a winning season this year as he joins Dean on the coaching staff from Blue Heaven.

The family would like to extend sincere thanks to Rose Hill and her team, Bertha, Jackie, April and Jamie, who cared for George in his remaining days. We would also like to extend special thanks to the wonderful staff at Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro. Lastly, words cannot express how grateful we are for the intense love and support we have received from long-time family friends, Mimi McGinn and Jim Posey. Thank you for always being just a phone call away.

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2016 at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Greensboro. The family will receive friends in the Parish Hall immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in George’s honor to the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, 2501 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC, 27607, Attn: Tracie Hazelett or to St. Francis Episcopal Church, 3506 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro, NC, 27408 or to the charity of the donor’s choice.

On line condolences may be made through www.haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.