Friends Board Member Marilyn Wolman

Contact the Friends

617-632-3909
EMAIL
marilyn-wolman150x223.jpg

Marilyn Wolman was born in Tulsa, OK, moved to Salem, IL, when she was 11, and moved to Washington, D.C., to begin her professional career. She worked in the U.S. Army's Adjutant General's Office in the Pentagon before taking a position with John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company. She was first transferred to its office in New York City and then to Boston, where she served as executive secretary to a senior vice president.

Marilyn married the late Dr. Harold M. Wolman, a child psychiatrist, and devoted her time and skills to volunteer work. She began her membership with the Friends of Dana-Farber as a result of her fundraising activities with Hope House, an organization that donated one-third of its proceeds to the Friends.

Because of her background and expertise, she served as the Friends' Treasurer for five consecutive terms. She has also served as Vice President for Membership, Recording Secretary, and served on the Gala Committee for more than 35 years, including as co-chair in 2014 and 2017. For more than 30 years, she has been Chair of the By-laws and Policies Committee and is seen as a superb parliamentarian.

In recognition of her outstanding efforts, Marilyn was chosen as the Friends' first recipient of the Sidney Farber Volunteer Award and is an honorary director of the Friends Board.

Marilyn is a Silver Life Master in duplicate bridge. She operated a flower business for more than ten years. She regularly visits family in California and is very proud of her twin nieces, one of whom is a nutritionist and the other a rabbi, and her nephew, an attorney in California, whose practice focuses on white collar crime. She said, "I am fortunate to have a special person to enrich my life and to share our mutual interests, especially our passion for duplicate bridge.”

Marilyn said “I have felt that one of the most rewarding parts of my life is the time I have spent on the Friends Board. I became involved when I was giving up a national board position for another medical charity. I have met and kept some wonderful friends through my work at Dana-Farber."