Robert E. Wolff, an engineer who was active in Lake Forest community affairs, died June 5 in the Lake Forest Place retirement facility. Mr. Wolff, 84, led his personal and professional life with purpose and style, family members said. “He was so outgoing and loved when company came over, just loved to entertain,” said his daughter, Marjorie Burnette. Born in 1915, Mr. Wolff attended the Chicago Latin School and graduated from the Hotchkiss School and Northwestern University. He spent 19 years working in sales for Illinois Tool Works before buying the Fred A. Snow Co. in 1963. The company was prominent in the heat-treating of structured steel, specializing in oversized stock and exotic metals. After a fire devastated its West Hubbard Street plant in 1980, the company closed in 1982. Mr. Wolff was active in the Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute for 40 years, serving as past chairman of its auxiliary. He also served on the Lake Forest Zoning Board of Appeals, board of Ferry Hall School and at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest. Besides his daughter, survivors include his wife, Emily Harmon Wolff; and three sons, James, Timothy and Peter.
