John B. Wolff III

John lived a life full of family, friendships, art, creativity, sports, and travel all while navigating a jet-setting professional career path.

John was born (1943) during the height of World War II in Mineola, NY to his parents John B. and Jean F. Wolff and resided on Front Street, Hempstead, NY. During the summer of 1949, the family moved to Garden City, NY. He is a graduate of the Garden City High School Class of 1961, where he excelled at both tennis and lacrosse. Following high school, he attended Randolph-Macon College (1965) where he held all the school’s freestyle and butterfly swimming records, received All-American honors for soccer and co-captained the championship tennis team. His lasting contribution to RMC sports was formally recognized in 1999 when he was inducted into the RMC Hall of Fame for tennis, swimming, and soccer. As his coach Helmut Werner stated during the induction ceremony, “If RMC had a lacrosse team, then John would have triumphed at that as well.” John received his Master’s Degree In Psychology in 1967 from the University of Richmond.

During the summer of 1964, John met his future wife, Sue, while working as a lifeguard at the Garden City Municipal Pool and they married in 1966, welcoming their first child, Kimberly, in 1967 and son, John, in 1970. They settled in Livingston during the summer of 1969.

John began his professional career as a Marketing Research Analyst with Philip Morris Inc. in Richmond, VA and Warner-Lambert Pharmaceuticals Company in Morris Plains, NJ. In the following years, he worked at various companies in the same capacity such as Best Foods and General Foods. During this period, he earned his private pilot license and flight instructor certificates and enjoyed working weekends teaching others to fly at the Certified Pilot Center at Morristown Airport. He longed to be a professional pilot, and with remarkable support from his wife and family, he finally left the corporate life. In 1981, John bravely exited the corporate “bean counting” world with financial security to start from scratch and pursue his dream of flying professionally. This life pivot involved the entire family and will forever be an action that spoke louder than his words of “Make sure you do what you love.” The mindset of “Do it now, it’s never too late” is an attribute that he has instilled in his children and grandchildren.

He eventually gained employment as the pilot for the Union Camp Corporation piloting the company’s Lockheed Jetstar aircraft and eventually the Canadair Challenger 600. In 2004, John ended his flying career as Captain of the Gulfstream 4SP for NetJets organization. He always said, “It was the best job I ever had.” He flew many famous people and prominent groups to Europe, Africa, South America, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, Japan and Hong Kong. His family and friends reveled in his stories of his encounters with the illustrious, or not so illustrious passengers.

Upon retirement in 2004, John was able to devote his life to his many interests and hobbies. If he was not riding his motorcycle, then he was meticulously planning his next ride, a memorable one was his ride to Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA. John was a gun enthusiast which included collecting, range target shooting, and cowboy action shooting. He meticulously planned activities for the grandchildren that included a backyard Blackbeard the Pirate treasure hunt for Legos and numerous art demonstrations with specific instructions to “always sign your work with your full name.”

John was an artist as well as an athlete. As a youngster, John wanted to become an animator with the Walt Disney Company and made a short cartoon about Christopher Columbus discovering America, using stickpins to move the pieces. In high school, he dabbled with drawing by copying characters and painting landscapes. It was not until retirement that John picked up a pencil and paintbrush again and began a new avocation of drawing and painting award-winning portraits in watercolor, graphite and pastel. His art career eventually took him from basement cartoons to earning many awards and signature memberships in several watercolor and pastel societies as well as serving as President of the Essex Water Color Club. John’s painting of the Livingston 9/11 Memorial Gazebo hangs in the town hall to this day. While on travels, he would find a person to paint their portrait and often would return to that destination and present his finished work to that same subject as a gift.

John was an individual who excelled in multiple disciplines – a true Renaissance man.

Traveling the world with Sue and then sharing their favorite destinations with the entire family with Forced Family Fun trips to Disney, Bermuda, Italy and Alaska was one of the brightest and treasured slices of life for all.

John is survived by his wife of 60 years Sue (Brown) Wolff, who was largely responsible for providing the needed push and support to leave the corporate life to pursue his dream of becoming a professional pilot. He is also survived by his three children, Kimberly A. Wolff-Thompson, John B. Wolff IV and daughter-in-law Jennifer (Pigage) Wolff, and three beloved grandchildren, Keith J. Thompson, Zack S. Thompson, and Amanda L. Wolff, and two sisters, Wendy F. Wolff and Jean S. Wolff.

Celebration of Life will be held at a future date where family will greet friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory can be made to Tunnels To Towers Foundation www.t2t.org and/or Cycle for Survival www.cycleforsurvival.org .