Psychiatrist Richard Hinckley Wolff, a longtime summer resident of Wellfleet, died peacefully in his sleep on March 22, 2024 after a well-lived life. He lived for many years in West Newton and at his death was at Springhouse Senior Living in Jamaica Plain. He was 95.
Richard was born on Aug. 5, 1928 in Montclair, N.J. He enlisted in the Army after high school just as World War II was ending and served in Japan in 1946-1947. He received his A.B. from Rutgers University and his M.D. from Temple School of Medicine. He started his professional career at Boston State Hospital. There he met his future wife, June Elizabeth Deeb Johnson-Wolff (1926-2017), as well as many colleagues who became lifelong friends. He also worked at Boston Children’s Hospital and maintained a longtime private practice. In the later part of his career, he worked for the Veterans Administration.
Richard loved music, traveling, reading, theater, photography, and science. In “retirement,” he tutored immigrants in English as a second language through the Newton Public Library for several decades. Quiet and ever curious, he loved fixing and building things. Sailing was a passion, and he built his own iceboat, which he sailed over the frozen lakes of New England. He was an avid astronomy and photography buff and built his own telescopes.
Richard and June spent more than 60 summers in Wellfleet. They loved art galleries and their daily walks on the beaches and dunes. They were especially fond of Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary Society and were lifetime members. Richard and June were both avid readers of the Boston Globe and believed passionately in the role a free press plays in a democracy. Richard was also a supporter of Provincetown’s Local Journalism Project.
He is survived by his stepson, Robert S Johnson; daughter-in-law Katherine Alford; grandson Asher Johnson; sister and brother in-law Marcia and Jeff Shapiro of Sharon; and sister-in-law Lie Wolff of San Francisco; as well as by numerous nieces and nephews.
Donations can be made in Richard’s name to the Wildlife Sanctuary Society, 291 State Highway Route 6, South Wellfleet 02663.
