Tobias Arthur Wolf

Tobias (Toby) Arthur Wolf passed away on Tuesday, February 25th after a valiant 2-year battle with Leukemia. By his side was his husband of 39 years, John Wallace Skurchak III. Together, with their amazing dogs Tess and Bango, called Groton their home since 2016.

Born in Huntington, New York on May 2, 1963, with big blue eyes, Toby was the son of Stanley Wolf and Grace (Myer) Wolf. He grew up alongside two brothers, Andrew Dmitri Wolf and David Wolf. Toby graduated from Pleasantville (NY) High School in 1980.

Toby earned his BA in Design of the Environment in at the University of Pennsylvania in 1984. It was here where Toby and John met and fell in love. Toby then attended Cornell University earning a master’s degree in landscape architecture. After teaching and practicing in upstate New York, Toby moved to Boston, MA, building his environmental portfolio with the Halvorson Design Partnership. Here Toby shaped beautiful spaces leaving his legacy in parks and greenspaces. Notable projects include the Fort Point Channel Parks on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the Boylston Street Renovation of the Public Garden and Mount Auburn Cemetery and the New England Aquarium. Moving out on his own, creating Wolf Landscape Architecture, Toby’s spaces focused on being authentic, welcoming and vibrant. His blend of botanic understanding, respect for how humans relate to their environments and straightforward vision of the beautiful created such recognized spaces as the Weiss Manfredi’s Overlook at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Bioswale at the Cornell Botanic Gardens.

Beyond his work, Toby had a passion for music. Toby was a founding member of The Backyard Collective, a small group of Boston-area singers who are passionately dedicated to vocal improvisation. Its members began singing together in 2020 through an online study group. Determined to sing in person despite the pandemic, they gathered outdoors through heat and cold to create new forms of group improvisation and to sing their hearts out. They love sharing their playful, spontaneous music and frequently invite their audiences to join in the fun.

Toby’s presence, voice, and spirit were an integral part of the group, and will be deeply missed by his fellow members Destiny Cooper, Joshua Rajman, Paola Faro, Rene Pfister and Rosi Amador.

To know Toby, was to love his humor, true kindness, wicked intelligence and gentle nature. His friends are too many to name, but each are better for knowing him.

Toby is also survived by, brother-in-law, Jim Skurchak and his wife Noelle, sister-in-law, Linda Skurchak, father-in-law John Skurchak and mother-in-law Virginia Skurchak Rossi, long-time friends and cancer battle allies, Marina Leslie, Mike Shortsleeves and Debra Beard Bader.

In lieu of flowers, we lovingly request donations to the Native Plant Trust. https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/support/

No services are scheduled at this time.

Arrangements are under the care of Badger Funeral Home, A Life Celebration Home, 45 School St. Groton, MA 01450. 978-486-3709