Longtime Juneau resident Steve Wolf passed away on February 27th in Everett, Washington after a long battle with Parkinson’s and related dementia. After a life filled with adventure, family, and friends, he’s driving his 1965 356c Porsche into the Great Beyond.
Steve was born on 1/1/1942 in Seattle Washington to Georgia (Jo) and Floyd Woodbury. He was the first baby born in the new year. His first marriage, to Betty Isley, blessed him with his first daughter, Laura. He met the love of his life, Bev Ingram, in Kenai in 1982. Steve proposed through the mail, and they were married on the Moose River in 1985. Daughter Hannah Jo was born in 1987 and son, Nathan in 1989.
Steve’s calling was to be a teacher and advocate for students. He received his BA and MA from the University of Washington and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Steve moved to Kenai in 1979 to open the Alaska Special Education In-service Training Center. After, he became the principal in Seldovia. Steve and Bev moved to Juneau in 1988 to teach special education at UAS. He taught at JDHS, supervised student teachers, and subbed in the Juneau School District after his retirement. He also was a special education mediator for Alaska’s school districts and families. Steve filled his time with community service. He was the board president of a woman’s shelter in Kenai, served on the Juneau Human Rights Commission, cooked at Glory Hall, and volunteered with Headstart and Hospice.
Steve fulfilled a long-time goal and converted to Judaism while attending the University of Texas at Austin in the late 1970s. He was a pillar in the Congregation Sukkat Shalom, serving on the board and organizing summer camps.
A staunch supporter of Democratic candidates and activist for human rights, he would often spend Saturdays dragging his kids to canvas Juneau’s neighborhoods. His drive for change taught his kids how to stand up for what they believe in. Anytime there was a march for human rights, Steve would be there. He was an artist, poet, musician, radio DJ, cook, woodworker, and yogi. Famously known as “Yoga Steve,” he taught stretching and yoga to students at JDHS and UAS, as well as the Alaska Club, Rainforest Yoga, and Pavitt’s.
Steve had the travel bug, passed down from his mother, an airline reservations agent. Steve and Laura spent two months in ‘79 driving through Europe in a VW Rabbit. Steve and Bev traveled the world, diving in Mexico, riding air balloons in Turkey, hiking in Peru, doing yoga in India, and biking in France and Thailand, among many other adventures. He also traveled throughout Alaska, flying to Sitka for airport pie in his Cessna 182, driving his Porsche through Canada, biking the Kluane, and boating through Southeast.
An avid hiker and camper, he could usually be seen climbing East Glacier (or the “Stairmaster” as he liked to call it) multiple times a week in the summer, telling anyone who listened about the four times he summited Rainer. Steve taught downhill skiing at Eaglecrest until his knees gave out but continued to cross country ski every winter. Steve loved the ocean, built his own kayak, took canoe trips around Alaska, and even though he was not a good fisherman, he still tried.
After his diagnosis with Parkinson’s in 2015, he continued to travel, rafted the Tatshenshini, Salmon, and Colorado Rivers, took up Rock Steady Boxing at Pavitt’s three times a week, and delivered Meals on Wheels with his friend, Tom Carson.
He will be missed by his wife, Bev Ingram, children Hannah Wolf (partner Julia Moonves), Nathan Wolf (partner Hanna Porol), Laura Wolf de Mejia (husband Humberto Mejia Teron), and grandchildren, Andrew and Antonio. He is proceeded in death by his mother, Jo Hayden, his beloved sister, Carol, and her husband Herb Lakefish.
Steve loved his community and was a generous supporter of many organizations. Donations in his memory can be made to the Juneau Community Foundation, 350 N Franklin St, Juneau, AK, 99801 or https://www.juneaucf.org/. A celebration of life was held on July 10th. Get your Hawaiian shirts ready.
To Donate
Donate by credit card using the link below or make your checks payable to: Juneau Community Foundation, 350 North Franklin Street, Suite 4, Juneau, Alaska 99801. Please call us at 907-523-5450, or email info@juneaucf.org for information on donating stock, wiring funds, establishing a Fund, gifting a portion of a Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA, or naming the Juneau Community Foundation in your will as a designated beneficiary.
