Westmont Magazine In Memory of Two Retirees

Willard F. Harley Sr. died April 18, 2001, in Santa Barbara. Born in 1913, he was a teacher and counselor who helped many.

After receiving degrees from Wheaton College and the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the Westmont faculty in 1945. In 1962 he became professor of psychology and was named professor emeritus when he retired in 1976.

Will delighted in his work with the Christian Association for Psychological Studies. He also wrote courses on mental hygiene and a series of essays entitled “No Two Alike.” After his retirement, he established Christian Family Counseling Services in Santa Barbara.

He is survived by Rita, his wife of 62 years; his daughter and son-in-law Janet and James Brown; his sons and daughters-in-law Willard Jr. and Joyce Harley and Robert and Sherry Harley; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. They see his legacy “in the lives of the men and women whom he shaped through wise counsel and godly example.”

Maria Wolff, who lived in Atascadero, Calif., died Jan. 28, 2001. Born in 1908 in Spokane, Wash., she attended Simpson Bible Institute in Seattle, Biola College in Los Angeles, and St. Paul Bible Training (now Crown College) in Minnesota where she graduated in 1932. She also studied at Nyack Missionary Training Institute in Nyack, N.Y. Growing unrest in China kept her from becoming a missionary in that country.

In 1935, she returned to Simpson Bible Institute and served as dean of women, a position she later held at Westmont. She left to earn a master’s degree in home economics from Oregon State in 1956 and returned to Westmont as director of Christian activities. She also began a tape ministry for the blind using students as readers. One of her greatest joys was corresponding with all the Westmont alumni who served as missionaries.

Ms. Wolff retired in 1973 after 23 years at Westmont. Her relatives and friends will remember her for a life spent in serving God and others.