In Memoriam: Remembering Frederick Wolfe, MD

I last saw Fred in June when making my annual visit to his home with my family. He was throwing tennis balls into the deep end of the pool for Chester, the family golden retriever, to get while my kids and I acted as obstacles in Chester’s way. Fred made us a great meal, had lots of smiles and we talked easily and often. Most visits Fred had “one more paper” he was working on to tell me about, but this time one didn’t come to mind. We just enjoyed the moment together, former patient and physician, mentee and mentor, and good friends.

An Active Life

Fred was an enthusiastic cyclist and, as a member of the Oz Bicycle Club, he participated in Biking Across Kansas many times. He also rode over the Continental Divide and toured several states. He had many passions, including amateur radio, opera, cooking and gardening.

Fred was a giant, a unique combination of unbridled altruism and brilliant computer skills. He never stopped being a social worker, driven to develop better patient care to the exclusion of personal advancement and financial gain. His contributions resound throughout the world, and he will be sorely missed by patients and the community of rheumatologists to whom he contributed so many advances.

Fred is survived by his wife, Donna Hawley; his sister, Susan Sanders and her husband, Fredric Sanders; his children, Aaron Wolfe, Ezra Wolfe and David Wolfe; daughters-in-law, Terrilyn McCormick and Erica Wolfe; and five grandchildren, Cy Wolfe, Allison Wolfe, Oscar Wolfe, Amos Wolfe and Lennard Wolfe.

Theodore Pincus, MD, is a professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.

Kaleb Michaud, PhD, is a professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and the director of FORWARD, The National Databank for Rheumatic Diseases.

References

1. Wolfe F, Pincus T. Listening to the patient: A practical guide to self-report questionnaires in clinical care. Arthritis Rheum. 1999 Sep;42(9):1797–1808.
2. Wolfe F, Pincus T. Standard self-report questionnaires in routine clinical and research practice—an opportunity for patients and rheumatologists. J Rheumatol. 1991 May;18(5):643–646.
3. Wolfe F, Hawley DJ. Remission in rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol. 1985 Apr;12(2):245–252.
4. Choi HK, Hernán MA, Seeger JD, Robins JM, Wolfe F. Methotrexate and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A prospective study. Lancet. 2002 Apr 6;359(9313):1173–1177.
5. Frederick Wolfe, M.D. Google Scholar. 2023 Oct 2.
6. Pincus T, Callahan LF, Bradley LA, Vaughn WK, Wolfe F. Elevated MMPI scores for hypochondriasis, depression, and hysteria in patients with rheumatoid arthritis reflect disease rather than psychological status. Arthritis Rheum. 1986 Dec;29(12):1456–1466.
7. Wolfe F, Pincus T. Rheumatoid Arthritis: Pathogenesis, Assessment. Outcome, and Treatment. New York: Marcel Dekker; 1994.
8. Wolfe F. SLE latex test kit. JAMA. 1973 Oct 15;226(3):357.
9. Wolfe F, Norris WL, Wilber M. ARA standard database reconsidered. Arthritis Rheum. 1977 Nov–Dec;20(8):1556.
10. Wolfe F. Selection bias in fibrositis study. Arthritis Rheum. 1982 Nov;25(11):1390.
11. Ioannidis JPA, Boyack KW, Baas J. Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators. PLoS Biol. 2020 Oct 16;18(10): e3000918.
12. Martin E. Celebrating the life of Frederick Wolfe, MD: ‘The consummate physician-scientist.’ Healio Rheumatology. 2023 Sep 15.