Maria J. Wolf
We are heartbroken to announce that our mom, mother-in-law, sister and sister-in-law passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Friday, December 16, 2022.
Maria Jadwiga (Jadzia to her family) Wolf was born March 1, 1941 to Cecylia and Tadeusz Sobczak in Lodz, Poland. She was a big sister to Barbara and her brother Piotr. Maria was raised and educated in Poland and after she graduated from a drafting and building design school she obtained a Draftsperson position at a local firm.
At the young age of 19 she fell in love with a young and handsome sailor, Boleslaw Besiekierski and soon after they got married and had their only daughter, Beata. Unfortunately the couple’s seemingly perfect marriage came to an end. As a single mother, she was working full time while raising her daughter with the support of her loving family.
During Maria’s visit to beautiful Santa Barbara, California in the mid 70’s, she met the love of her life and her future husband Kurt Wolf. Shortly after her daughter Beata and later sister Barbara moved to Santa Barbara. Maria gave Kurt a youthful outlook on life and was an inspiration and caregiver during his difficult times. They both opened the popular German auto repair and dealership, “Deutsche Werkstatt. Maria also loved to cook and she turned her passion for cooking into her new profession and became a private chef. Prior to becoming a private chef she gained some experience by working at the German Coffee Shop and at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Coffee Shop. She worked for many families in Montecito, shopping for perfect ingredients and preparing delicious meals. At the Wolf’s residence there were many Sundays and special occasion dinners with family and friends and always enough food to feed an army. In 1982 family moved to the beautiful beach town of Carpinteria where Maria spend the rest of her life.
Kurt passed away in 2004 and soon after Maria retired and enjoyed spending time at home reading, watching movies and visiting with her friends and family. She loved sitting on her front porch enjoying her beautiful roses and talking to her neighbors. She passed the cooking torch to her daughter and became a “sous chef”. Maria was very independent and always wanted to live alone in her house until her health started to decline. Later on she moved in with her daughter Beata and son-in-Law Tim and grandpuppy Bentley. There were many happy afternoons, birthdays and tea time parties on the patio while enjoying the collection of blooming orchids. She was a big Laker’s fan and occasionally enjoyed watching a game with her son-in-law. Maria spend the last few months of her life at Cottage Hospital and Valle Verde.
The family would like to extend sincere thanks to all the doctors and nurses at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and the entire staff at Valle Verde. We are very grateful to Dr. Bordofsky for providing exceptional care to Maria for the last 25 years. We also would like to thank Dr. Greenwald, Dr. Ahmed, Dr. Pineda, Dr. Markova, VNA, her caregivers and her neighbors Erik and Bernie.
She is survived by her daughter Beata Rose (Timothy) and sister Barbara Finch (James). She was preceded in death by her husband Kurt, her parents Cecylia and Tadeusz and her brother Piotr.
Maria will be missed tremendously by all her loved ones and will always remain in our hearts and memories forever. Rest in peace until we meet again. We love you so much!
Please send donations in her memory to: Alzheimer’s Association or VNA Health (Hospice Care).