Doris Anne Wolff, 89; restored historic houses

DORIS ANNE WOLFF

Doris Anne (Connolly) Wolff never saw a Colonial-era house in Massachusetts in need of a face lift that she did not dream of restoring to its original splendor. She acquired, restored, and lived in a succession of at least 19 houses before selling them and moving on to another project, relatives said.

Mrs. Wolff, also well known as a collector of antique mechanical dolls and antique furniture, died April 14 of heart failure at Dean Park Nursing Home in Greenville, Maine. She was 89. She had lived in Weston for nearly 40 years before moving to Maine three years ago.

An avid historian, Mrs. Wolff knew exactly the architectural features and the nuts-and-bolts that made each of the homes she restored unique.

Her first project, in 1949, was a 1718 slate-roof gambrel on Fort Devens land in Lancaster that had to be moved to make room for a firing range, said her daughter Ann "Andy" Wolff of Greenville. With the help of extended family, she dismantled it board by board and nail by nail, then oversaw its reassembly in Lincoln.

Mrs. Wolff named it the 1718 Doll House, where she kept her collection of antique mechanical dolls and lived for a time with her family. The house was later purchased by a descendant of its original owner and builder, Andy Wolff said.

Around 1968, Mrs. Wolff formed Restorations Inc. and had her own crew. But that didn't stop her from recruiting her three children into "stripping wallpaper, sanding floors, carrying bricks, and planting flowers," her daughter said.

No one who knew of Mrs. Wolff's independent spirit, intelligence, and innovative mind was surprised to see a woman as the on-site boss on a major reconstruction job. She knew just what had to be done and was respected by her male workers for that, friends said.

"My mother was a bit of a character," her daughter said. "She didn't take no for an answer."

Two of her other high-profile restoration projects were the Whitney Tavern saltbox in Weston, built in the late 1600s, and a house in Lexington, originally located on the Town Green during the Revolution. It was later moved to Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington.

An amazing discovery in the Lexington house was hiding under layers of wallpaper: the murals of Rufus M. Porter, a native of Boxford and a painter, inventor, and founder of Scientific American magazine. Porter died in 1884. Andy Wolff said the house might also have been a meeting place for George Washington and General Lafayette.

Ann Strominger and her husband bought that house from Mrs. Wolff, becoming longtime friends, and lived in it before they moved to Cambridge.

"Doris was feisty, in the most complimentary way," Strominger said. "She had strong opinions and was a sparkling conversationalist. She was charming and also beautiful." Strominger believes Mrs. Wolff restored about 35 houses.

Mrs. Wolff was also a great hostess, said another friend, Elaine Mycock of Cotuit and Boca Raton, Fla., who recalled a party for 70 Mrs. Wolff hosted and catered in one of her restored homes. Amid the dust and construction equipment, "Doris always wore a dress," Mycock said. "I never saw her in jeans."

Mrs. Wolff was born in Boston to Irish immigrants, Michael and Anna (Glynn) Connolly. She was the eldest of five and the only daughter.

She went to work in 1940 as a secretary at Polaroid Corp., where she met Otto Wolff, an aeronautical engineer and inventor who would go on to become a vice president at Polaroid.

The couple married in 1941 and lived in Concord and Sudbury before settling in Weston.

Mrs. Wolff's interest in antiques peaked when she set her mother up in the business at her home after the death of her father.

But education was always her priority. She wanted to be a doctor, her children said. When they were older, she earned a practical nurse's degree. She also studied at Boston University, Regis College, and Bryn Mawr, her daughter said.

Mrs. Wolff dropped out of college to care for her son, Thomas, now of Hudson, who was bedridden for a year with an illness.

In later years, the Wolffs built a home in St. Martin in the Caribbean, a house designed by Mr. Wolff. The couple were about to observe their 50th anniversary when Mr. Wolff died in 1991.

Mrs. Wolff sold her doll collection and paid for the college education of her granddaughter, Katrina Anne Pichevin of Tampa.

"Dad always said of mother that she was out to leave the world a better place than she found it," Thomas said. "And she was."

In addition to her son, daughter, and granddaughter, Mrs. Wolff leaves another daughter, Kerry Ellen of Weston; and two brothers, Joseph Connolly of Wolfeboro, N.H., and John Connolly of Alexandria, Va.

A memorial service is planned for late July.