Ann Elizabeth Wolfe

Ann Elizabeth Wolfe (“Beth”) died on July 29, 2020, in Williamsburg, Virginia, surrounded by her family. She is survived by her husband Ralph Roger Wolfe (“Roger”), her sons Roger and Michael, her sister Mary Koss, brother-in-law Bill Koss, daughters-in-law Mary and Karen, and four loving grandchildren: Virginia, Peter, Ben, and Sarah. Beth was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, on August 23, 1941, to August James “A.J.” Breitenstein and Virginia Selby Breitenstein. She grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where A.J. was an executive at U.S. Steel. Beth graduated from Mount Lebanon High School then attended Ohio University, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. It was also there that she met her husband Roger, who was dared by a friend to ask her out on a blind date after she became a campus celebrity by being selected Homecoming Queen in the fall of 1960. Roger and Beth were married in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on June 15, 1963, shortly after Beth’s college graduation and after Roger began his Army career with a year in Germany. They spent the early years of their marriage living in Gelnhausen, Germany, where they enjoyed their child-free years traveling through Europe. After they returned to the United States, they lived in Fort Knox, where Roger and Michael were born. Beth then lived in Pittsburgh near her parents while Roger endured two overseas tours in Korea and Vietnam. Beth’s life was devoted to raising her boys and supporting Roger’s military career. The family lived in Fort Knox, Kentucky; Leavenworth, Kansas; West Point, New York; Washington, D.C.; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Fort Monroe, Virginia, where Roger served his last Army assignment and retired as Post Commander. Along the way, Beth worked as a school teacher, an administrator, and as a volunteer. After the boys graduated from college, she became a civilian employee for the U.S. Army and retired from her last assignment at Fort Monroe in 2003. Beth enjoyed the simple pleasures. She loved a good book and went through dozens of novels a year. She loved her family but was never afraid to grab a moment of time for herself when she needed a break from a home with three men in it. Her powers of organization were legendary: no birthday was ever forgotten, no thank you note ever went unsent, and no gift was ever wrapped with anything other than perfection, even when they were torn apart moments later by the boys. She is universally described as kind, generous, and gracious. Roger A’s and Michael’s successes in business and life are a direct result of their parents’ unconditional love and support. Their spouses, Karen and Mary are both loving, supportive and down to earth like their mother-in-law. Beth continued her loving and attentive ways with her four grandchildren, spoiling them with equal enthusiasm and fervor. They will miss “Nanny” dearly. Anyone who visited the Wolfe Family Circus and spent any time with Beth always left feeling they had made a friend for life. Our family will be planning a service in early 2021 in Fort Monroe, Virginia. In lieu of gifts or flowers, we recommend a donation to a charity of your choice or to the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe. (https://fortmonroe.org/visit/casemate-museum/).