Dottie's House, Homes Now Founder Carol Wolfe Mourned In Brick

BRICK, NJ — Carol A. Wolfe, who founded Dottie's House to help women and children escaping domestic violence and Homes Now to provide affordable housing to those in need, has died.

Mrs. Wolfe, the wife of Assemblyman David Wolfe, died Friday at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. She was 80, according to her obituary on the O'Brien Funeral Home website.

Mrs. Wolfe founded Dottie’s House in 1999 with the vision of it being not just shelter but of helping women transition to being able to support themselves. It was named in honor of her mother, Dottie Camilli, who was a victim of domestic violence. Dottie's House opened its doors in May 2001 and has served dozens of women and children in the nearly 20 years it has been in operation.

Mrs. Wolfe also was the founder and CEO of Homes Now, Inc., established in 1997 as a nonprofit organization that has built and monitors more than 200 quality affordable housing units. The organization oversees Homes Now Chambers Bridge Residence; Homes Now Tudor Village; Homes NowBeachview Residence; and Homes Now Sycamore Ridge.

"Since its inception, Carol worked tirelessly to help those in need," her obituary noted.

"Carol was the inspiration behind Dottie’s House and a true visionary," Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick said. "To understand her incredible passion and support for others, look at the Dottie’s House website. My thoughts are with my friend and Assemblyman Dave Wolfe and his family."

Mrs. Wolfe, who retired in 2017, raised more than $30 million in funding for Homes Now and Dottie's House through grants.

Her efforts to help those in need garnered her many honors and awards. She received the 1997 ARC of Ocean County Humanitarian Award; 1997 NJ and Shore Builders American Institute of Architects Resident of the Year; 2000 NJ Excellence in Housing Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement Office of the Governor; 2000 Ocean County Chapter - ARC - Distinguished Service Award; 2001 Providence House Woman of Influence - Outstanding Commitment to Victims of Domestic Violence; 2003 Brick Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Citizen Award; 2005 Leadership Award - Point Pleasant Boro Chamber of Commerce; 2005 Advocate of the Year - Ocean County Advisory Committee on the Status of Women; 2005 Citizenship Award - Ocean County Bar Association, Law Day; 2005 Women Helping Women Award - Soroptimist of Toms River; 2005 Exceptional Women Award; 2006 "Woman of Distinction" Ocean County Advisory Commission on the Status of Women; 2006 & 2007 FAME Award – New Jersey Shore Builders Association; 2007 Grand Marshal of the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival; 2007 Women Helping Women – Southern Ocean County Business and Professional Women; 2008 NJAWBO Monmouth / Ocean Chapter Rose and Scroll Award; 2008 The Guild of Ocean Medical Center Award; 2008 Brick Chamber of Commerce, Non-Profit Organization of the Year; 2010 Speaker - Rutgers University Institute for Women's Leadership, 2016 Governors Excellence Award in Housing.

In addition to her humanitarian efforts, Mrs. Wolfe loved painting, gardening and and spending time with her loving family.

In addition to her husband of 35 years, she was survived by her son, three daughters and two stepsons, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She was born and raised in Jersey City and lived in Brick for 52 years before moving to Point Pleasant in October 2018.

Her viewing will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at O’Brien Funeral Home, 505 Burnt Tavern Road, Brick. A funeral Mass will be offered on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at 11 a.m. at St. Martha’s Roman Catholic Church, Point Pleasant. Cremation is private.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Dottie’s House, P.O. Box 4002, Brick, NJ 08723. Here her speak about Dottie's House in two interviews below:

Note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Carol Wolfe's name. Patch regrets the error.

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