Nikolaus E. Wolff

NORWICH—Nikolaus E. Wolff, 86, died peacefully August 16, 2007 at his home, after a lengthy struggle with cancer.

He was born and raised in Germany, where he earned the equivalent of a B.S. in chemistry at the Technical University in Munich. He arrived in the U.S. in 1948, and five years later became a proud American citizen.

He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University, before joining DuPont in Wilmington, Del., as a chemist. After six years of research and development work there, he moved to RCA Laboratories in Princeton, N.J., serving for nine years as a research manager on projects in electronics and electrophotography. He then worked for Xerox in Rochester, N.Y., where, during eight years as a manager, he worked on the development of photocopiers. He held or co-held eight patents.

He left Xerox to become an independent technical consultant to management in 1976, shortly before moving to the Upper Connecticut River Valley, where, over nearly 30 years, he lived in East Barnard, Hanover, N.H.; and Norwich. He served as a founding board member of Hospice of the Upper Valley; played viola in the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra; illustrated several books; and enjoyed designing computer programs. A lifelong amateur linguist, he became conversant in French, Russian and Italian.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Neave Wolff, of Norwich; three children, Alexander Wolff of Cornwall, Stephanie Wolff of Norwich, and Katherine Wolff of Cambridge, Mass., and their spouses; five grandchildren, and a brother, Christian Wolff, of Royalton.

A gathering to celebrate his life will take place in East Barnard at a later date. In lieu of flowers, he requested that contributions be made to the Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice of Vermont and New Hampshire, P.O. Box 976, White River Jct., Vt. 05001.

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