Obit: Charles Wolfe, music writer-scholar(Feb 06)

Subject: Obit: Charles Wolfe
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine
Date: 10 Feb 06 - 11:36 AM

With great sadness I pass along the news that music writer and scholar Charles Wolfe lost his long fight with ill-health last night. He was the author of many books, articles and reviews about traditional, roots-based and vernacular music, and was on staff at Middle Tennessee State University for many years.

Subject: RE: Obit: Charles Wolfe, music writer-scholar(Feb 06)
From: Kaleea
Date: 10 Feb 06 - 02:35 PM

Sad. There are very few places in the USA where one can get higher education about American Folk Music. Perhaps someone will think of that in his memory?

Subject: RE: Obit: Charles Wolfe, music writer-scholar(Feb 06)
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine
Date: 10 Feb 06 - 02:38 PM

Funeral service and address to send cards appended below.

With sadness I wish to inform you that we lost Charles Wolfe tonight. Charles passed away at MTMC at approximately 9:00 pm, after an extended battle with diabetes and attendant complications, with his wife, Mary Dean, and his daughters Stacey and Cindy and Cindy's husband Mark at his side. Charles was a gentle giant, a prolific scholar and beloved colleague whose presence in the English Department and in the University gave new and unique meaning to the term "professor." Certainly with his prolific productivity, including nineteen scholarly books (with others still in the offing) and hundreds of articles on music, folklore, and popular culture, Charles could have gone to any institution in the land. But his feet were deep in the Tennessee soil. He was Missouri born and bred--and Blue Raider to the core, having joined MTSU in 1970, where he remained until his retirement just this past year. Though nationally and internationally known for his accomplishments, Charles never ventured far from heart and home, from family and friends.   Unpretentious, dedicated, mentor to countless students and friend to all who knew him, Charles has left an indelible imprint. He will be missed by those who did not know him personally, and even so much more by those who did.
John McDaniel
Dean, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro

Charles Wolfe visitation and funeral arrangements:
Woodfins Funeral Home
1488 Lascassas Pike (Hwy 96 East)Murfreesboro, Tn
Visitation 4 - 8 p.m. (Saturday, Feb. 12)
Funeral 1:30 (Sunday, Feb. 13)
615) 893 1515 -- funeral home telephone

Wolfe mailing address:
Mary Dean Wolfe
1210 Bond Court
Murfreesboro, TN 37129

Subject: RE: Obit: Charles Wolfe, music writer-scholar(Feb 06)
From: Arkie
Date: 10 Feb 06 - 03:24 PM

This is indeed a great loss. Dr. Wolfe was an exceptional scholar and his books and articles were well researched.   We had a mutual friend in Dr. W.K.McNeil who died last year and I know he was very highly respected in the academic world.

Subject: RE: Obit: Charles Wolfe, music writer-scholar(Feb
From: GUEST,Dale
Date: 10 Feb 06 - 04:57 PM

With the passing of Dr. McNeil and Dr. Wolfe, I am hard put to name anyone left of their caliber. I conversed with Dr. Wolfe a few times (via the internet) and Dr. Bill countless times, and always came away rewarded for the experience.

Subject: RE: Obit: Charles Wolfe, music writer-scholar(Feb 06)
From: Stewie
Date: 10 Feb 06 - 09:02 PM

Sad news indeed. A great loss to country music scholarship.

--Stewie.

Subject: Obit: Charles Wolfe, music writer-scholar(Feb 2006
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Apr 07 - 06:18 PM

While researching Carter family information, I found this Obituary at Berar Family Records:

On Friday the 10th of February I was shocked to hear that my good friend Charles Wolfe had died at Middle Tennessee Medical Centre at 9:00pm the night before.

I first learned about Charles when I saw Tony Russell, the editor of 'Old Time Music Magazine,' during my many visits to London in the mid-1970s. Tony mentioned his name. We both had not heard about him before, and the next thing was that Charles wrote his first book for Tony about the Grand Ole Opry.

I corresponded with Charles after that and met him in 1982 when I visited his house in Murfreesboro. Since then I saw him and his family once or twice a year, depending on my trips to Nashville. I have seen his kids grow and I've seen his collection grow. In the first few years, you could still find room to sit in his office among all the books, tapes and records. He managed to find the material that he wanted to show me, but in later years he'd look for it, and wouldn't find it. Later still when he said "Let me look for it", my answer was "Don't even think about it".

I remember those long afternoons when we discussed various projects. Many of them came to fruition, and simply wouldn't have been possible without him. To name a few 'The Carter Family,' 'Uncle Dave Macon,' the 'Louvin Brothers,' and the as-yet finished Bill Monroe project that will include every recording that Monroe ever made (the last box set is still in preparation and was waiting for Charles to recover).

In the last few years Charles had been seriously ill, but always recovered. When I saw him last May, he had a lot of plans. He had just retired and had cleaned out his office at the University. He was planning another shed in his garden to store his many materials. But then came the news that he was back in hospital. When I spoke to him a few days ago, he sounded rather weak, and this time, sadly, he didn't recover.

So long, Charles, I will miss you.

Richard Weize

Subject: RE: Obit: Charles Wolfe, music writer-scholar(Feb 06)
From: Brian Hoskin
Date: 19 Apr 07 - 05:50 AM

I missed this news back in February. This is very sad indeed. Charles Wolfe's work was not just thoroughly researched, but was also interesting and accessible.