Pauline Alcinda Wolfe

Mom/Oma/Cindi Schloming/Pauline Wolfe was born on March 22, 1945 in Oakland, California to Dorothy and Herb Schloming. She passed away in her home of 46 years in Ridgefield, Washington on January 9, 2024, at the age of 78. She is survived by her three children, Spencer, Mason, and Amanda; her daughter-in-law, Kim and son-in-law Scott; and her six grandchildren: Karyssa, Maiah, Mattea, Sawyer, River, and Sage; and her two bonus grandkids, Olivia and Owen.

The memorial service will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at Columbia Presbyterian Church, 805 Columbia Ridge Drive, Vancouver, Washington 98664. There will be a reception following the service with cookies and drinks.

Mom went to Chabot Elementary School, Claremont Middle School, and Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, California, graduating in 1962. She then attended Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, graduating in 1966 with a degree in English and Education. She married Brian Wolfe, and they lived in Salem, Oregon for a few years where Brian earned his law degree. From there, they moved to Vancouver, (Clark County) Washington, where they lived until 1978. She moved to Ridgefield, Washington, earned her Master’s degree in English and Teaching in 1981, and lived there for 46 years until her passing.

Mom was a very family-oriented person, always wanting to spend time with immediate and extended family in Washington and California. She started our family reunions in 1998, which we have done almost every year since, in Northern California. She brought everyone, “in-laws and outlaws”, together each August and made everyone a part of the family, regardless of their connection to our family. She cherished her kids, their spouses, and her grandkids (Oma to them) so much, and spending time with them was her favorite thing to do. She always remembered each person’s birthday and holidays and sent cards, gifts, and made phone calls to let you know she was thinking of you and that you were special to her. She made the time to spend unique, one-on-one time with each of her grandkids with her ‘Our Day’ she created over the course of many years. Those memories of their Oma are very special for each grandkid.

Mom taught elementary school in Salem, Oregon, and then taught high school English at Woodland High School in Woodland, Washington for over 20 years, where she was also the teacher for drama, the school newspaper, and Knowledge Bowl. She kept in touch with many of her students after they graduated and had a lasting impact on some of them. Many of them have reached out to her after her retirement to say how much she meant to them and how positive an impact she had on them.

Mom was always so social and involved with many groups and activities throughout her life. In high school, college, Salem, and in Clark County Washington, she volunteered for so many charitable organizations; too many organizations to list here. She was not only involved, but typically took on a leadership role. She was passionate about teaching, helping those less fortunate, politics, and served her community and loved the social aspect of all her groups.

Everyone knew Mom to be a very caring and giving person. Everyone knew and experienced her attention to details. They would say she always “jumped right in” and took on organizational tasks that maybe many were not interested in, but which she excelled in. They would say she always did her best to make whatever she was working on to be the best. For us kids, we’ll never forgot all the lists of things to do and think of her when we write our own.

Our hope is that Mom/Oma is remembered for the caring, active, and adventurous person she was. She loved to travel, especially on road trips around the U.S. She always immersed herself in the place or culture she was visiting and tried to experience as many things as she could on her trips. She also loved, maybe even more, all the people she met and spoke with. She was always one to strike up a conversation with a stranger.

We will miss her. She instilled in us a hard worth ethic, caring for others, and how to keep family important. She taught us the meaning of perseverance and how to forgive. She was loved by all her kids and family. Although we are all sad, we know she has moved on to a better, more peaceful place and she passed with those most dear to her at her bedside. We also know that, wherever she is, she is getting it more organized, and she is immersing herself in the experience.