Obituary
Jay Ralian Wolff, 94. Loving husband of the late Betty Ascher Wolff. Beloved father of Thomas (Barbara Staman) Wolff, and Cynthia L. Wolff. Adored grandfather of Ilana (Byron) and Joseph. Dear brother of Ronny (Arlene) Wolff. Special brother-in-law of the late Nancy and Donald Engel. Beloved father-in-law of the late Marcy Epstein Wolff. Fond uncle and cousin of many.
Jay served in the Navy in 1945-46, having interrupted his studies at Purdue University to serve his country and learn radio technology. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering. He started his career at Argonne National Laboratories working on mass spectrometers and repaired vacuum tube televisions on the side. He kept up with the rapidly changing field of electrical engineering by developing nuclear medicine imagers and CT scanners at RIDL, Nuclear Chicago, G.D. Searle, Tracor Analytic, and developing aircraft defensive counter-measures technology at Northrup Grumman. He holds two U.S. patents. After retirement, he was a very active volunteer at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Highland Park Hospital, Meals-on-Wheels, AARP Tax-Aide, CASA, Chicago Action for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, the Elms Swim Club, and local vegetable gardens. He was committed to environmental and social causes and supported local Democratic politicians including U.S. Representative Brad Schneider.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to: WFMT, 5400 N St. Louis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60625-4698 , www.wfmt.com/support-wfmt, Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL 60022, www.chicagobotanic.org, ACLU Foundation, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York NY 10004 , www.aclu.org, Union of Concerned Scientists, One N. LaSalle St., Suite 1904, Chicago, IL 60602-4064, https://www.ucsusa.org.
There will be a virtual memorial service Sunday 3PM and a virtual shivah Sunday and Monday at 7PM. For information please call Chicago Jewish Funerals-Buffalo Grove Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com
Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals. www.chicagojewishfunerals.com