Betty Wolf

Betty Wolf, of Wilmington, died on Thursday, November 26, 2015, at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center at the age of 88. She was fortunate to live a healthy life up until the month of her death. Over the six and a half decades that she lived in Wilmington, she grew to personify the Yankee spirit of independence and determination. She was proud to live in Vermont, and enjoyed all the beauty it has to offer. Several notorious figures crossed paths with Betty and Mickey during their tenure as medical providers- (their practice encompassed about a fifty mile radius). That care included quite a wide range of characters - including Senator George Aiken in Putney, conductors Pablo Casals and Rudolf Serkin in Marlboro and author Robert Penn Warren, who always preferred house calls to an office visit. As Mickey had delivered most of the babies for 30 years, Betty knew most everyone in town and then some.Betty was born in Burlington, Iowa on July 23, 1927. She was the daughter of Ralph and Thelma (Gardner) Davidson. She attended the Cook County School of Nursing in Chicago where she met her future husband, Mickey Wolf. Together they moved to Wilmington in 1950 to start practicing medicine and later established the Deerfield Valley Health Center, dedicated in 1963. Betty worked alongside Mickey both in Wilmington and at Mt. Snow, where they started an office in 1955, the year the mountain opened. A strong advocate for education, Betty served on the Wilmington School Board for many years. She was instrumental in the construction of the Deerfield Valley Elementary School. After she retired from nursing, she served as a trustee at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center for 18 years. She was a visionary, who foresaw the need to provide care for seniors. Betty will be remembered for her dedication to rural medicine, her willingness to help others and her smiling face. She was always thankful that she lived in Wilmington and spent the entire time living on Whitney Lane. After selling the family house at the end of the street, she moved into a great apartment at the other end. She loved her garden there and being able to watch nature from her window. The occasional sightings of bear were not welcome, but deer, bluejays, cardinals and hummingbirds were favorites.Betty was predeceased by her husband, Mickey in 1983, and her daughter Susan, who died of cancer in 2008. She is survived by her son, Michael Wolf of Nashua, NH, daughters, Dr. Holly J. Wolf of Denver, CO, Judy Wolf of North Ferrisburgh, VT and Lisa G. Wolf of Plant City, FL. She has one grandchild, Kate Costello, who is currently studying in Oxford, England. At the request of the family, there will be no formal funeral services. Contributions can be made to the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. At the request of the family, there will be no formal funeral services.