Claude Maurice Wolfe

On Friday, September 11, 2026, Claude Maurice, age 89, formerly of West Middlesex, PA, passed peacefully at Quality of Life Services in Grove City. Claude was born in Middletown, Connecticut on November 4, 1936, to Joseph and Tessie (Domb) Wolfe.

Claude built a life marked by music, skilled work, military service, and longstanding ties to the Shenango Valley. He attended school in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, and New York, and graduated from Owego High School in 1954. He later earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education at from the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University.

Music was a constant thread throughout Claude’s life. He began singing at age 12 as an alto in the choir at Hadley Presbyterian Church, an early start to a lifelong devotion to choral music. Over the years, he sang in churches from Owego, New York, where he completed high school, to his Presbyterian church in Hollywood, California. He also directed choirs in four area churches, sharing his training and love of music with congregations across the region.

Claude’s life in music also shaped one of its most important personal milestones. He met his wife, the former Sharon Lees of New Castle, PA, in the choir of Highland Presbyterian Church. They were married on June 12, 1965, eight months after singing their first duet at church.

Alongside his musical life, Claude developed a career grounded in technical skill and entrepreneurship. After attending Office Appliance Mechanical Institute in Springfield, MO, to learn the office machine repair business, he carried that expertise into his service in the United States Air Force from 1955 to 1959. Following his military years, he joined his father, Joseph R. Wolfe, to establish Wolfe Typewriters in the Shenango Valley. The business later became Wolfe Office Service and grew into the largest independent IBM typewriter repair center in the Pennsylvania and Ohio area.

Claude’s years in the Air Force also gave him further opportunities to sing. While serving, he sang in two glee clubs and remained active in barbershop harmony, an interest that became one of the defining passions of his life. He was an avid barbershop quartet singer for more than 35 years. While stationed at Pepperrell Air Force Base in Newfoundland, he organized a barbershop quartet society chapter in St. John’s. More than 50 years later, barbershop singing continued there, and Claude remained in touch with two of its charter members, a lasting connection to the musical community he helped begin. He also enjoyed his wife’s cooking and Spumoni ice cream.

A former Shenango Valley businessman, Claude was known for a life that joined craftsmanship and music in equal measure. Whether directing church choirs, singing in harmony, serving in uniform, or building a respected family business, he brought together the disciplines of performance, service, and work over many decades.

Claude Maurice Wolfe will be remembered in the communities where he lived and worked, in the churches where he sang and directed, and in the musical circles that remained important to him throughout his life. His life’s story is one of enduring dedication to song, service, and the work of his hands. 

With love and devotion, Claude and his late wife, Sharon Kay Lees, raised their children in West Middlesex, PA.  Claude is survived by his children, Beth (Fred) Schulte of Hubbard, OH, Shawn (Carol) Wolfe; grandchildren, Hannah (Zach) Clark, Lillian Schulte, Cera (Kevin) Kopple, Ian Muller; sisters, Cybil (Bruce) Gorley and Tessie (George) Stevens.

Arrangements by Cremation & Funeral Service by Gary S Silvat Inc.  Share memories and send condolences by visiting cremateohio.com or crematepa.com.

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