Wolff, Violet

Vi was born in 1914 and came to Washington from Bozeman, 
Montana graduating high school in Mount Vernon. She 
attended the U of W. Her earliest job was with gardening 
expert Cecil Solly at KOMO Radio. Later she became an 
underwriter at Gould and Gould, the insurer of the first 
Narrows Bridge. She often recalled the scandal upon arriving at 
work the morning after the Narrows Bridge collapsed when it 
was learned that the agent who sold the policy on the bridge 
had not submitted the policy or the premium to the company. 
Vi and her late brother, Don, were great dancers and often 
attended the dances popular in the prewar days. It was at one 
of these dances that she met her future husband, George 
Wolff. They shared a common enthusiasm for adventure, 
especially flying. Vi earned her pilot's license in 1941and was 
active in local flying organizations, civil air patrol, and was 
crowned Seattle's Miss Aviation in 1942. Vi and George became 
a part of Seattle's aviation tradition, building and operating 
Bow Lake Airport just before WWII. Their airport became the 
site of the first runway at Seatac Airport. After WWII George 
and Vi and their family lived at White Lake in Auburn for many 
years, later moving to Normandy Park. A popular and award 
winning watercolor artist and sculptor for many years, Vi 
treasured her artist's life and the many artist friends she met in 
Quad A and at The Art Stall at Pike Place Market. Her varied 
work included Native American portraits and motifs, and 
animals sketched on site on her travels in Africa. Vi will be 
greatly missed by her family; her daughters and sons-in-law, 
Joti and Charlie Harris and Jan and Jamie Ancker; her 
grandchildren and their families, Ty and Stacy Harris, Sam and 
Katie Harris, Keith Ancker and Alison Namba, Elizabeth Ancker 
and six great-grandchildren, Chase, Kaylea, Celia, Natalie, 
Luke, and Kaylee. All join in wishing Gramma Vi Godspeed on 
this next part of life's journey.

Published in The Seattle Times from June 24 to June 27, 2010