Obituary of David B. Wolfe

DAVID B. WOLFE, age 78 Entrepreneur, philosopher, author passed away Saturday, December 3, 2011, after a long illness, at his home in Reston, VA surrounded by his loving family. Left to mourn his passing are his loving wife, Linda Thornton Wolfe and children, Sabrina (David Straus) Wolfe, Laura (Jeff) Erlich, Karen Wolfe O'Connor, Brian (Aimee) Wolfe, Michelle (Christian) Cantrell, Stephanie (Charles) Hanson and Step-daughter, Jessica (Thomas) Williams. Other survivors include his brothers, Charles "Rick" (Rosemary) Wolfe and Walter (T.J.) Wolfe; sister, Rosemary (Charles) Stewart and grandchildren, Gabe, Sam, Rachel, Jon, Elizabeth, Tim, Chris, Collin, Alex, Madi, Bennett, Hannah, Ellie, Dylan and Megan. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Harry Wolfe and Tony Wolfe. David grew up in Bethesda, Maryland where he graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. After attending three semesters of college, David served in the United States Army in Korea, serving in the communications area. David's long career was distinguished by his never working at a salaried position. He initiated his own business enterprises, starting with landscape services and landscape design, moving into community design and ultimately into marketing and management consulting for the business community. His special interest was mature markets, and he wrote the books Serving the Ageless Market and (co-authored) Ageless Marketing. His socially responsible approach to business inspired his subsequent (co-authored) management book Firms of Endearment. All of these publications have achieved very positive reception and have been published in several languages, while affording David the opportunity to travel internationally consulting with top companies about customer behavior. His last book, Brave New Worldview, was completed just before his death, and will be published in the near future. As an early leader in the field of community management, David was named an honorary member of the American Bar Association, for whom he was a consultant and writer in the emerging field of condominium and neighborhood cluster management. Reflecting his non-confrontational nature, his approach was to seek a win-win approach to the tricky relationships between tenants and developers, in which he was singularly successful. During his career he founded two companies, Community Management Association and the National Association of Senior Living Industries. In the last two decades, David was the thought leader for his professional/social group The Society. The members of this group became David's second family who greatly respected him for his forward thinking and his generosity. A life-long scholar and teacher, David is remembered by all for his optimism, positive thinking, erudition and generous sharing.