Wolff, Elmer D.

Elmer D. Wolff - age: 91
(February 11, 1919 to March 19, 2010 )
Resident of Ukiah, California

Visitation Information:
Sunday, April 4, 2010 from 5-8 PM at the Eversole Mortuary

Obituary:
Our hero, Elmer Wolff, a POW of World War II, passed away at the age of 91, on March 19, 2010 at his home in Ukiah, California. He was born February 11, 1919 in Fort Benton, Montana but lived in Loma, Montana. He was raised by his parents; Harry Wolff who passed away at the young age of 42 in 1928 of a ruptured appendix, and Ella Wolff who passed away at the age of 79 in 1964. In 1924 the family ranch flooded and they moved to Arrow Creek, Montana. They stayed there for eight years before moving to Kalispell, Montana. Finally, in 1942 the family settled in Spokane, Washington.

Elmer decided to quit school in the eighth grade to work on the neighborhood farm to help his parents support his five other siblings. The job paid him 25 cents per day. He bridled horses, fed chickens and cows, and milked cows. He worked one week before deciding there must be better pay for the hard work he was doing. His next job was working in the fields with other men. At the end of the day the men were paid $1.00. Since he was a young boy, the owners of the farm chose to pay him only 50 cents per day for his hard work. He walked off after that job too. In his teen age years while living in Kalispell, Montana he worked for WPA in CCC Camps. He stayed only a short time and decided to join the Army in 1940.

Once in the Army, he wrote home often. Most concerning to him was how the family was supporting themselves and his siblings while he was away and his letters made promises of sending home money. He always fulfilled his promises.

In 1941 Elmer was taken prisoner in the Philippines and sent to Japan. The family did not hear anything more from him other than he was missing in action and the Army could not find him. He was found 3 ½ years later in a Japanese prison camp. It wasn’t until the war ended in 1945 that the family finally heard from him. He received an honorable discharge in 1946 and returned to Spokane. He has written memoirs in a book entitled “The Hell Ship.” He felt it was important for the younger generations to know what went on during the war.

Elmer met and married his wife Anne Dirken in 1947. They were happily married until Anne’s passing in 1993 due to heart problems. She was 84. Elmer and Anne owned a dairy farm in Mica, Washington with 75+ acres. All the cows were milked by hand. Eventually the automated milking machines were invented and used. Anne raised baby chickens on the farm. Each year she would buy 250 baby chicks to raise to provide eggs. The ranch became too overbearing and was sold in 1953 when Elmer and Anne moved to Ukiah, California.

Once in California, Elmer did a lot of carpentry work, built cabinets, worked on bridges and commercial buildings. He was very proud of his work. At one point he eventually worked in commercial fishing.

Fishing became a love and he had a lot of fishing buddies who he considered family. They would fish at Albion, which was nearby, or travel to Arizona to just to be together each year. After several years as his health began to fail he had to stop going to Arizona but continued to go to Albion. He told a story of an otter that jumped in his boat while he was heading into shore to eat the fish he landed that day. The largest salmon he caught was 47 pounds.

Elmer was a life member of the V.F.W. and Disabled Vets.

He had a wonderful sense of humor, he would say “Throw the cows over the fence some corn” to everyone just to see the puzzled look on their face. He had a contagious smile and was loved by all.

Elmer is the last of his family generation. He had 3 brothers, George Wolff died at 69, Marvin Wolff died at 84, Cyrus Wolff died at 88, and 2 sisters, Laurabell died at 66, and Gladys died at 94.

Elmer is survived by several nieces and nephews: Colleen Mullenix, Corrine Dewey, Bonnie Aagard and Morris Wolff, all living in Spokane, WA. Mic Forry, from Olympia, WA, Dale Buck, from Sagel, ID, and Gary Wolff from Southern CA.

A funeral service will be held at Eversole Mortuary on Monday, April 5, 2010, at 2:00 pm. The burial will commence with military honors at Russian River Cemetery. A reception will follow at the VFW in Ukiah. Visitation will be on Sunday, April 4, 2010 from 5 to 8 pm at the mortuary. In lieu of flowers, donations will be accepted to the VFW or Hospice in Ukiah.

We all love him and he will be missed.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Eversole Mortuary.