Thomas Wolff to be Honored With Route 83 Dedication

The state is naming a section of Route 83 after Thomas Wolff, a longtime Vernon resident and businessman who was one of the University of Connecticut's more active benefactors.

The ceremony to dedicate the Thomas Wolff Memorial Highway is scheduled for   Wednesday at 3 p.m. at 475 Talcottville Road, the Webster Bank branch. That section of Route 83 is known locally as Talcottville Road.

State Sen. Tony Guglielmo will preside over the ceremony with members of the Wolff family.

The section to be dedicated runs from the intersection of Route 30 near Vernon Circle northward to the Ellington line.

Wolff, a 1956 UConn cum laude economics graduate, passed away in 2008. He  qualified for 32 consecutive years in The Million Dollar Round Table.

Wolff founded Wolff-Zackin & Associates, an all-lines insurance agency.

He was a past-president of the Hartford and National Association of Life Underwriters and was selected by Leader’s magazine as one of the 20 most outstanding insurance salesmen in the world.

Wolff was a recipient of the industry’s highest honor, the John Newton Russell Award. He also was awarded the Bickley Founder’s Medal.

Wolff authored several books on capital and financial needs analyses and asset management.

He received UConn’s 25th University Medal, the Distinguished Alumni Award and the UConn Club’s Outstanding Contribution Award.

According to Guglielmo's office, the Wolff family stands among the University’s top donors, with the Wolff Family Program in Entrepreneurship representing its signature endowment.

Wolff was elected director emeritus in 2004. He, his wife, Bette, and the firm he headed made many contributions to the university, including the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium and four endowed athletic scholarships.

The Wolffs have been basketball season ticket holders continuously for more than 60 years.

The family also established the Thomas and Bette Wolff Family Park, which plays host to the statue of the UConn Husky. Wolff served on the School of Business Board of Overseers and was inducted into the School's Hall of Fame.

Wolff was a prolific writer. He authored six books and wrote a column on financial planning for a leading financial planning magazine for 10 years. He also had a longtime column in the Journal Inquirer under longtime Living editor Richard Tambling.