Joseph Bishop Wolfe

Joseph Bishop Wolfe, 71, died October 29, 2022. He was born April 5, 1951, in Janesville, Wisconsin. He was the son of the late John H. & Marian Schuster Wolfe. He is also preceded in death by a sister, Kay Barreca.

As a native of Janesville, Joe graduated from Parker High School, where he was a National Merit Scholarship Finalist. He received a BBA in public accounting from Loyola University in Chicago and an MBA in corporate finance from DePaul University. He was also a licensed financial planner.

Joe retired in 2015 after 42 years of financial services to small businesses. He started his career as a CPA and in 1985 was asked to join the Board of Directors of Wisconsin Business Development. In 1996, he joined WBD as Executive Vice President and in 2004 he succeeded the company's founder, John Giegel, as CEO. During Joe's tenure, WBD grew to nine Wisconsin offices and added three subsidiaries.

Joe also served for ten years on the Board of Directors of NADCO, the trade association of SBA Certified Development Companies. During that time, he focused on pursuing regulatory improvements and legislative enhancements to SBA programs. From 2011 to 2013 he served as Chair of that organization.

In 1966, he was part of the Janesville Babe Ruth Little League team that went to Arizona to play in the championships. That experience created a life-long love of baseball. Of his many interests, Joe had a thirst for reading with a personal home library of over a thousand books. He was also an avid gardener and took an extension course to get his Master Gardener's certificate. He and his wife, Linda, shared this love of gardening their entire married life. He was a great storyteller and had thousands of stories to share for all occasions. Some were funny, some were meaningful, but all were memorable.

He is survived by his wife Linda Mapel Wolfe, two daughters: Sarah Wolfe (Matt) and Laura Wolfe Frisby (Michael), and a grandson: John Frisby. He is also survived by two brothers: Tom Wolfe and Steve Wolfe, and two sisters: Mary Lynn Hughes and Sally Zentz, as well as many friends and family members.

A celebration of Joe's life will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to be made to your local library, animal shelter, or botanical garden in your community.

Online condolences may be made at gordonfuneralservice.com or apfelwolfe.com .