Maxine Wolf
Maxine Wolf passed into the arms of Jesus on her youngest son’s birthday, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019.
She was born at home in Hot Springs way back in 1929. She was predeceased by her husband, Harold; and her mother, Minnie Smith, and father, Arthur Smith; along with three siblings, Doris, Cleo and Audie; and a grandson, Benjamin Ward.
She is survived by her three children, Sharon Ward (Bobby), Mike Wolf (Joy) and Matt Wolf, all of Hot Springs; one brother, Leo Smith (Ann); four grandchildren, Stephanie Cloud (Chris), Tim Ward, Kelli Wineman (Jake) and Mary Rachel Hobbs (Leith); and six great-grandchildren, Daniel, Sarah Beth, William, Anderson, Catherine and a little one in the cooker.
Proverbs 31:10 says, “A woman of worth, who can find? Yea, far above rubies is her price.” Who can find her? We did, and it was our mother. And yes, her worth and value to our family was immeasurable. From homemaker to curtain maker to wedding cake baker; from Avon Lady to head dietitian at Lakeside cafeterias, to LPN at CHI St. Vincent in Little Rock, our mother loved to work and serve others.
But she wasn’t just all work, she also loved to play. From drum majorette and a forward on the basketball team at Lakeside in the 1940s, to Pine Bluff City Golf Champion and a league bowling championship in the 1970s, she tried it all. Knitting, sewing, crochet — no problem. She was even deadly in horseshoes at the 40-foot range and could see a squirrel before the dogs did. But her greatest recreational love was fishing, and boy, do we have the pictures to prove that there used to be catfish in Lake Hamilton!
Other than life itself, however, her most significant contribution to our lives was her faith in Jesus. She took church life seriously, serving faithfully in each of the four churches she had been a member of over the years: New Hope Baptist here in Hot Springs, Bethany Baptist in Pine Bluff and Antioch Baptist in Little Rock, and First Baptist Hot Springs. From teaching Sunday school to leading children’s choirs, to Larry Bradley’s ukulele band, she was not one just to warm a pew until later in life when even that became impossible.
We are already missing our mom greatly. Since our dad’s death in 1995, she became the center of our little solar systems. We will honor her with a simple graveside celebration at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, in Crestview Cemetery on 70 east.
On behalf of our mom, who always made Christmas the “best time of the year” for us … Merry Christmas to all of you!