Ida O. Wolff

Ida Operario Wolff passed into the next world at 6:35PM Friday, May 20, 2015, after a four-year battle with breast cancer. Ida was a person of deep Catholic faith who explored wide and varied spiritual beliefs and leaves this earth knowing she will be united in Heaven with her loved ones. Mourning her passing are her husband of more than 53 years, John U. Wolff, her four children, Erna L. Wolff (Michael Biron), Rebecca I. Wolff (Viola Shyu), Sarah E. Wolff, and John P. Wolff (Colette Goodkin Wolff), and her especially beloved grandson, Nguengeti Ngwen. Ida is survived by her four sisters (Teresita Tingzon, Fe Cuenca, Maria Aung-Thwin and Monina Basubas) and three brothers (Desiderio Operario, Bernardito Operario and Hilconido Operario), and nearly sixty nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces, as well as cousins, all of whom she knitted into a grand family of many generations. She remained closely tied to her family and community in the Philippines and in the United States her entire life.

She was born September 16, 1939 in Tacloban, Leyte Province, the Philippines, to Victoriano and Luisa Balite Operario. She graduated from the Eastern Visayan Institute in San Julian, Samar, and then earned an education degree as valedictorian from University of the Visayas, Cebu. She earned a MA in Linguistics from Cornell University and MSW from Syracuse University.

Ida was a widely respected psychotherapist who introduced and taught EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a pioneering technique known for its effectiveness in treating people with emotional and psychological problems. Her knowledge and intelligence in understanding and helping clients to access and integrate their conscious and subconscious selves allowed her to help countless grateful people.

Ida was devoted to serving her community. She was an ESL (English as a second language) teacher to Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian students in the Refugee Assistance Program. She was a sponsor of refugee families, a member of the board of Suicide Prevention, a Half-way House volunteer, and a benefactor of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. She began as an employee in the Cornell Library system and forty-five years ago studied to become a psychotherapist. She was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and a core member of Ithaca's Filipino-American community.

A skilled storyteller, Ida's passion was writing. With help from dear friends, she published a collection of fiction based on her life's experiences: The Woman Who Forgot How to Fall Asleep and Other Stories, available from Buffalo Books, Amazon, and from her husband, John. She had many other wonderful stories, which will be edited and published posthumously. Ida had wanted to write a book on the social history of her family's hometown, San Julian, Samar, Philippines, based on dozens of hours of interviews recorded some thirty years ago. She also hoped to translate her stories into her two native languages, Cebuano and Samareño, in which she could express herself eloquently.

Ida could debone a chicken in 20 minutes for a marvelous Rellenong Manok and served a gourmet midnight dinner for 100 at her and John's annual New Year's Eve party for many years. From her culinary abilities to her creativity with a sewing machine, from her grace on the dance floor to her exquisite singing, Ida added magic to the lives of those around her.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the Immaculate Conception Church at 113 N. Geneva St. in Ithaca on Wednesday, May 25 at 10:00AM. The public will be warmly welcomed. A reception follows. The family will be at home for condolence visits on Tuesday evening May 24 between 7:00 and 9:00PM at 145 Honness Lane, Ithaca, NY, tel. (607) 229-7627. A celebratory memorial service will also be held at the Foundation of Light at 391 Turkey Hill Rd. on Thursday, May 26, at 5:00PM until 8:00PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra or Suicide Prevention Crisis Services of Ithaca. Bangs Funeral Home is assisting the family.

We will dearly miss her warm and loving presence.