R603
Husband: John (Jack) Wulfers
Died: 1/27/1984 in Parkersburg W.V.
Wife: Dorothy (Nook) (Wood) Wulfers
Father: Edward Manning (Doc) Wood [R553]
Mother: Nora Nellie Wisely Wood [R553]
Born: 5/6/1917 in Parkersburg W.V.
Died: 3/6/2015 in Lewisburg W.V. Buried with John in Arlington
National Cemetery
Married: 8/19/1942 in Corpus Christi Tex.
Children:
John Manning Wulfers, b. 4/28/1947, d. 12/02/2011 m. Nancy
Bauch, s. Theodore Manning (b. 8/25/1979)
Melinda Leah Wulfers, b. 5/24/1949, m. 1st David Dines, m. 2nd
8/6/1977 to James Russell, s. Benjamin Andrew (b. 6/27/1981, m.
Alexandria Myers)
The quoted material that follows, only slightly edited, was supplied by Dorothy Wulfers (1996).
“With a great deal of turmoil in the Doc Wood family in the early years, we children spent much of our childhood at Nimrod Hall. I, Dorothy (fondly called Nook and Nookie by the Woods), thoroughly enjoyed being at Nimrod. The happiest days of my childhood were spent there. Grandma and Grandpa Wood spoiled me no end. Grandma would hide me behind her wheelchair (her lower leg had been removed due to sugar diabetes) to save me from washing dishes when Aunt Elsie came looking for me.
“Grandma raised turkeys, with great patience and pride. I still have a turkey bell (a miniature cow bell) that she would place around the hen turkey’s neck, so she couldn’t hide her chicks. I also have a sterling silver thimble, complete with a crocheted wide-brimmed hat in which to store the thimble. These are treasures of mine.
“An interesting observation, I think: All of the Uncles and Aunts addressed their mother as “Mum.” It always struck me as funny (from an English past?) that they referred to their mother as “Mum.”
“Grandpa gave me my own horse (!) when I was eight years old. I dearly loved that horse, Fanny (Fig. R603a). Before she came to me, Fanny had delivered mail throughout Bath County. The first time Grandpa put me on Fanny’s back, was backwards. I was frightened, Grandpa laughed, then turned me around properly.
“I used to go down over the hill from the barn and play cowboy— rounding up the cows. Then, of course, the horse and I had to rest, so I’d tie Fanny’s bridle to a fence post. Then I’d lie down on the ground to rest, before starting all over again. I had a vivid imagination and would play for hours—alone, except for my friend, Fanny. Finally, she was 25 years old, got down, and that was the end. Frank shot her, then got the tractor to pull her to a grave beside the river going over to the Ed Porter farm. Aunt Elsie took me to the house before it all happened.
“Speaking of Aunt Elsie...one day I took myself to the dining room of the colored help and was having dinner and was happy as all get out because George Luckett, Scott [S154] and the other hired hands were my friends. They were so good to me. Well, Aunt Elsie came after me and in no uncertain terms said I was never to do that again. Years later, a song from the Broadway show South Pacific reminded me of that: “You have to be carefully taught.”
“Memories of all the uncles are wonderful. Aunt Louise would pack a lunch and Uncle Burger would take the three of us fishing. I was Frank’s sidekick until Bill Kempton came along. Bill and brother Murray, along with Mother, Aunt Virginia and Granddad, Judge Ambler, came down from Baltimore, Maryland as regular guests at Nimrod. There were so many wonderful families who would vacation at Nimrod. The Lunsfords, from Roanoke, the Jennings from Richmond, and many others. It was always so good to see everyone. Murray Kempton (see [S164]) would play paper dolls with me. Should anyone come along, his would quickly go inside the cover a of a magazine. Murray also taught me to play bridge. I taught Billy and Murray to ballroom dance (I was quite good). Their mother gave me a beautiful sterling silver mesh handbag for teaching the boys to dance.
“Other happy memories include sitting quietly, listening to Miss Virginia Ambler at the piano, playing the latest music from composers such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and George Gershwin. Some was music from New York stage plays. I’m talking about the middle 1920s to the mid-1930s. Such beautiful music.
“Saturday nights we would dance in the ballroom (the large lower parlor), doing the Virginia Reel and Round dancing. This was such fun! Sunday evening, after dinner (wonderful food) many of the guests would gather round the piano while Mrs. George Jennings played and we sang folk songs and standards like ‘Carry me Back to Old Virginia.’
“Under Grandpa’s rule, Sunday at Nimrod was a day to relax, go to church, read the Bible, etc. The only recreation allowed was swimming. No competitive games of any kind were permitted. Tennis, croquet, for instance. Card games were absolutely prohibited (unless, of course, guests were very discrete).
Shifting to Dorothy’s adulthood, “I...was married August 19, 1942 at the Base Chapel of the Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas. My husband, John (Jack) Wulfers, upon graduation from Newark College of Engineering, June 13, 1941, had enlisted in the Naval Reserve program. He had his indoctrination at New York University and was commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserves. His duty at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station was that of an Aeronautical Engineer. He served eighteen months in the South Pacific. When he left the Navy in 1945 for civilian life, his commission was Lt. Commander.
“Jack and I resided in Morris Plains, New Jersey for thirty years before his retirement as Assistant County Engineer of Morris County. Two children were born of the marriage, John Manning Wulfers (April 28, 1947) and Melinda Leah Wulfers (May 24, 1949). Jack and I retired from Morris Plains to Parkersburg, West Virginia in the 1970s. Jack passed away on January 27, 1984 from heart failure. He received a full military funeral and is buried in Arlington Cemetery.
“Since returning to West Virginia, I have been a homemaker, and have done lots of volunteering. I served as President of King’s Daughters in 1989. I have been a very active member of the Parkersburg Women’s Club for twenty years. I have served the Club in many offices, including being President from 1984 to 1986. I was appointed as Western District representative to the WVFWC Scholarship Loan Board for six years, helping numerous high school girls to obtain college scholarships and low- interest loans. I have been voted an Honorary Member of the Parkersburg Women’s Club, joining a small group of women who have done outstanding volunteer work for our community.
“As a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, I continue making soup for the luncheons served during the Church’s annual fundraising book sale. This has been a 14-year project for me. Each year I say it is the last time, but this November [1993] I’ll again be making my famous vegetable soup. With my daughter and her family away for Thanksgiving last year, I spent the day serving dinners to 423 people at the Salvation Army. I highly recommend volunteering!
“Quilting is another passion of mine. I make hand-pieced and hand-quilted quilts. At last count, I have made thirty-four. Most of them are displayed on the walls and the beds of my daughter’s home.
“During his last year at the University of Wisconsin, my son John married Nancy Bauch of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He then graduated from Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas, and now practices law in Chicago. He and his wife have one child, Theodore Manning Wulfers, born August 25, 1979. [John is a partner in the law firm of Lord, Bissell and Brook.]
“Melinda graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. Her first marriage, to David Dines, ended in divorce. There were no children. She then graduated from West Virginia University with a law degree, and married James Russell on August 6, 1977. James is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is also a graduate of West Virginia University College of Law, and is a partner in the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson.
“Melinda and Jim live in Morgantown, West Virginia. They have one son, Benjamin Andrew Russell, born June 27, 1981. After approximately ten years of full-time motherhood, Melinda has resumed the part-time practice of law. She specializes in cases involving child abuse and neglect, where termination of parental rights, foster care, or family reunification are possible outcomes.”
(1996) John M, Wulfers died on December 2, 2011. The following obituary was published in the Chicago Tribune on December 15, 2011.
John M. Wulfers, a retired international reinsurance partner with Loop law firm Locke Lord (formerly Lord, Bissell & Brook), died on Dec. 2, 2011, at age 64, surrounded by his loving wife and son, following a lengthy illness. For 30 years until his retirement at the end of 2010, Wulfers represented reinsurers and insurers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and continental Europe who faced enormous financial pressures from the nationwide toxic tort litigation, massive surety claims and other complex commercial disputes. He always brought keen passion to his advocacy while earning the respect of clients and adversaries alike. The 2010 Guide to Leading American Lawyers quoted clients and peers as saying: "Professional integrity is his middle name."
He was utterly devoted to his family. He loved traveling with his beloved wife of 40 years, Nancy, all over the U.S. and to many foreign countries. He loved fly fishing in Montana, deep sea fishing in Hawaii and Arizona spring training trips with his son, Ted. He and his wife supported Chicago's performing arts and enjoyed musical performances in cities throughout the US and abroad. As busy as he was in his personal and professional life, he was a man who always took time to stop to smell the roses along the way. Wulfers was a passionate sports enthusiast, attending numerous NFL Championships and Super Bowls, the World Series, NCAA Final Four, soccer's World Cup Final and England's FA Cup Final, Triple Crown Thoroughbred races, PGA major championships and Ryder Cup matches. He and his father were 50-year season ticket holders of the New York Football Giants. Throughout his life, he relished playing many of the world's greatest golf courses and enjoyed attending Big 10 football games, avidly supporting his wife's Northwestern Wildcats and his own beloved Wisconsin Badgers.
Wulfers served in a U.S. Navy aviation squadron that tracked foreign nuclear submarines throughout the North Atlantic in the late 1960's. John Manning Wulfers was born on April 28, 1947, in Morristown, N.J., where he grew up. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and from the Southern Methodist University School of Law. He began his legal career as a felony trial prosecutor in Rochester, N.Y., before moving to Chicago and entering private law practice in the Loop.
Wulfers is survived by his beloved wife, Nancy; and son, Ted, of Los Angeles; his mother, Dorothy; and sister, Melinda Russell (James), of Morgantown, W.V. His father, John W. Wulfers, predeceased him and is interred in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC. The funeral Mass for John Wulfers [was] celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 11:30 a.m. at St. Simon's Episcopal Church, 717 W. Kirchhoff Rd., Arlington Heights, Ill. In honor of the passing of one of the world's most passionate Wisconsin Badger fans, guests [were encouraged] to wear a little red.
Melinda Russell added the following: After spending ten years representing children in child abuse and neglect cases, in 2001 I turned my focus to making hooked rugs, researching their history and publishing articles about hooked rugs in Rug Hooking Magazine. More than a hobby, the quest to make excellent rugs has become my passion.
I am proud of my educational achievements and proud that I have made a long and happy marriage. But my proudest accomplishment is having raised a happy, healthy, wonderful human being in the person of Ben Russell.
Ben is now 30 years old and is pursuing his professional passion, currently reporting the news for NBC television in Dallas, Texas. The NBCDFW.com web site has this to say about him:
"Ben Russell is an Emmy award-winning reporter who joined NBC 5 in October 2011. Prior to his career in DFW, Ben was a general assignment reporter at WHP-TV in Harrisburg, Pa., and an anchor/reporter at WDTV in Bridgeport, W.V. Over that time, Ben’s work has been honored by the Associated Press in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the West Virginia Broadcasters Association, and he was twice awarded a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for Best General Assignment Reporter in an area that covers all of Pennsylvania, and portions of New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia. Throughout his career, Ben has covered several stories of national significance, including the Sago mine accident in W.V., the Amish school shooting in Lancaster County, Pa. and Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to the United States. Ben and his wife Alex are excited to explore all that North Texas has to offer. They live in Arlington, and look forward to embracing life in The Lone Star State. A proud graduate of West Virginia University, Ben is excited to see his Mountaineers join the Big XII just in time for his arrival."
