Wolle, Francis, 1889-1979

Hilda Doolittle, or H.D., (1886-1961) was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 1886. She has been described as a premier Imagist poet although her greatest body of work can be traced to later in her life, during and directly after World War II. She spent most of her life living, traveling and keeping up with her friend and fellow writer Winifred Bryher. She corresponded with her cousin, Univ. of Colorado English Professor Francis Wolle, and with her friend and admirer, Norman Holmes Pearson, while she lived in Europe (mostly in Switzerland and London). H.D. won the Gold Medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters as well as the Brandeis and Longview Awards. She died in Zurich, Switzerland on September 21, 1961.

Francis Wolle was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on February 22, 1889. Francis Wolle attended the University of Pennsylvania (1907-1911) where he was active in drama, track, and cross-country. Wolle received his master's degree in English at the University of Colorado and continued his graduate work at the Sorbonne and at Columbia University. In 1913, he began teaching at the University of Colorado where he spent forty-four years on the University of Colorado Department of English faculty. Wolle served six years as chairman of the English department and received promotions from instructor to full professor. He was associated with more than eighty plays during his time at CU and was the director of University Dramatics from 1914-1940. Between 1917 and 1933, Wolle wrote, produced, and directed fifteen University of Colorado musical comedies. He was the author of Fitz-James O'Brien: A Literary Bohemian of the 1850s, which he began writing as his doctoral dissertation. Wolle served overseas in the army during World War I and advanced to the rank of captain. Upon his return to Colorado he was named commander of a company that later became the Colorado National Guard. During World War II, his unit was called to service. Wolle chaired a committee that helped with navy training on campus during the war. He married Muriel V. Sibell on October 26, 1945. After Wolle retired from the University in 1959, he became active in youth ministry at the Episcopal Church in Boulder. He was ordained a priest of the Episcopal Church in April 1973; he was granted special permission to be ordained despite age restrictions, and became the oldest man to receive ordination. After Muriel Sibell Wolle's death in 1977, Francis Wolle saw her final book, Timberline Tailings, through the publication process. He died October 1, 1979.

Francis Wolle (1889-1979) was born on Feb. 22, 1889 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to a large Moravian family. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he began teaching English at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1913. He received his M.A. from CU-Boulder in 1916 and, in 1917, he enlisted in the Army where he was in the infantry and did intelligence work. Upon returning to CU-Boulder, Wolle became one of the founders of the University Theatre. In 1923, he began work towards a Ph.D. at Columbia University and continued to work on his doctorate for the next several summers, researching his dissertation on Fitz-James O'Brien (a work which was later published). He met his future wife, Muriel Sibell (another founder of the University Theatre), while working on set designs. They married in 1945. Along with his work writing and directing plays for the theater, Wolle coached the cross-country and track teams. He retired in June of 1957 and in 1960 became a deacon in the Episcopal Church. He was ordained a priest in April 1973. He died on Oct. 1, 1979 in Boulder, Colorado.