Denis Gregory Wolfe (87) of Atascadero sadly passed away on July 26, 2024, with his loving wife Elaine by his side. Earlier in the month they celebrated their 60-year wedding anniversary. Denis was the classic quiet engineer, a self-made man, who worked his way from humble beginnings to become Vice President of Engineering for a large corporation. Over the course of his career he was awarded 40-plus patents in electro-mechanical and lighting products.

He was born in New York City in 1937 to Harry and Elizabeth (Varholla) Wolfe and as a young child moved with his parents and sister Barbara to Mt. Pleasant, PA. After high school Denis began working for Robertshaw Controls Company doing general maintenance around the plant. Managers there soon recognized his talents and assigned him to the drafting department. Before long he enrolled in a 9-year, night-study mechanical engineering program at Carnegie Mellon University all the while working full-time. Unfortunately during his program, Russia launched Sputnik, sending the American scientific community into crisis-mode to revamp our country’s university programs. This event turned Denis’ 9-year program into 15 years. Undaunted, he plowed through those many years and earned his degree in 1970.

By this time Denis had a wife and two sons, and his career was expanding. He traveled throughout the world to monitor engineering projects. He was highly respected for his engineering skills and his talents for mentoring others. He had a keen sense of finding his employees’ best abilities and guiding them into the proper role in the organization. He was a life-time member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Denis had a charming, subtle sense of humor and will also be remembered as a quiet, soft-spoken, kind man, respected by those who knew him. In addition to his wife Elaine (Uhrin) Wolfe, Denis leaves behind sons Geoffrey David Wolfe (Lien), Gregory Scott Wolfe, and grandchildren Ryan (Brooke), Tyler, Ava, and Garner. His family will especially treasure memories of cross-country road trips and many rock-hounding ventures into California deserts.

A Mass of Resurrection will be held at St. William’s Church, Atascadero, Friday, August 23, at noon. A video will be available online Click Here