Former University of Toronto chancellor Rose Wolfe, who graduated at least 60,000 students at 90 convocations and bestowed about 60 honorary degrees, died on Friday. She was 100.

Born on Aug. 7, 1916, Wolfe served two terms as U of T’s chancellor, from 1991 to 1997.

“At the age of 75, when many people begin to rest, Rose became chancellor of the University of Toronto and worked tirelessly for the next six years,” said former U of T president Robert Prichard in a statement.

He described Wolfe as “a powerful force for good” who “lived a rich and full life,” ‎personified the very best values of the university and built bridges to the many communities it serves. “Quite simply the perfect chancellor” is how he once described her to the Star.

Wolfe would have been touched by the words of fondness and admiration that have marked her passing, her daughter Elizabeth told the Star in an email.

She said Wolfe would want to be remembered as someone who challenged authority, called into question conventional wisdom and demanded action.

“She believed in rocking the boat,” Elizabeth said. “She never shied away from taking leadership to task, to do more and better.”

Born Rose Senderowitz, she once wanted to be a doctor but felt her marks in math were not good enough, so she chose sociology instead, graduating from U of T in 1940, the same year she married Ray Wolfe.

The job that changed her life came in the 1940s at Jewish Family and Child Services. She was to place Jewish children from displaced persons camps in Poland, Belgium and France in Canadian Jewish homes.

She described the children as “undersized, pale and withdrawn” in an earlier Star report.

“The war was over,” she said. “But we really didn’t know the numbers or the horrors they went through. They didn’t talk.”

One of the children she helped, John Freund, remembered Wolfe on Saturday as a “very fine” and “beautiful woman.”

Freund came to Canada as a Jewish war orphan when he was 18, in 1948. He said he told Wolfe that he wanted to finish high school, which he had started in Prague. He remembers that she advocated for his education at the Canadian Jewish Congress, at which point he was granted the financial aid to finish school.

That experience cemented Wofle’s decision to establish a chair in honour of her late husband for the study of the Holocaust.

“We owe it to our predecessors, to ourselves and to future generations to understand what happened during that terrible period in human history,” the university’s campus magazine quotes her as saying.

Among the many high points of Wolfe’s career were serving as vice-president of the women’s division of the United Jewish Appeal; president of the Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations; and president of Jewish Family and Child Services.

Through her work, Wolfe often rubbed shoulders with famous people, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

She was also known as U of T’s “most prominent volunteer,” once visiting a Scarborough hospital in her chancellor regalia to present a dying Victoria University student with his diploma

Wolfe had two children, Elizabeth and Jonathan, “late in life,” and continued working for a time, as she told the Star in 1996. Mother and daughter both recalled the day she resolved to quit.

“She did leave her work after coming home to my 5-year-old self crying on the doorstep,” Elizabeth told the Star in an email on Saturday. “She committed to being there for us when we were young and made certain we were always well fed, well dressed, well groomed, well behaved and actively engaged in activities.”

Elizabeth said Wolfe had high expectations in all aspects of life and believed her children were a reflection of her.

Wolfe was also a very “impressive” hostess, Elizabeth said. “My fondest memories of her were watching her act as hostess at her dining room table, serving the most elegantly prepared meals and engaging guests in vibrant and entertaining conversation.”

From the early 1960s on, Wolfe was deeply involved in community activities, Elizabeth said. She treated her volunteerism as though it were her profession — a full-time undertaking with regular prep work, meetings and debriefings.

“When I was a young practising lawyer, she would often call at night for consultations,” Elizabeth said. “Those conversations instilled in me my own commitment to community engagement.”

Through her exemplary service as chancellor, as a member of the university’s Governing Council and in her many volunteer positions, Wolfe has left a magnificent legacy, said U of T president Meric Gertler in a statement.

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“The University of Toronto has lost a beloved champion, a distinguished alumna, and an incredibly warm and generous friend,” Gertler said.

Many aspects of life at U of T have benefited from Wolfe’s leadership and dedication, from the experience of commuter students to alumni engagement, fundraising and the university’s global academic standing, Gertler noted.

Wolfe’s name will always be synonymous with generosity, free spirit and intellectual freedom, said Anna Shternshis, director of the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies at U of T.

The former chancellor was extensively involved in the life of the centre, Shternshis said in an email, adding that Wolfe advocated for female leadership in academia and for the study of Yiddish — a Jewish language brutally damaged by the Holocaust.

“She took a keen interest in our current students, met with them, wanted to know about their concerns and challenges,” Shternshis added. “They trusted her because they sensed her ultimate devotion to their success.”

Michael Marrus, professor emeritus of history at U of T, spoke fondly of Wolfe. He was the inaugural holder of the professor of Holocaust Studies chair that she endowed 20 years ago as chancellor.

“I knew Rose before this, from Jewish community activity,” Marrus said. “(She) was emphatically present with her Jewish identity but also with her sense of community responsibility.”

Marrus also recalled Wolfe as “extraordinarily poised and elegant … not a hair out of place … perfectly attuned to the moment, and very diplomatic.”

Wolfe was succeeded as chancellor by Hal Jackman, and Marrus said she gave advice to her successor about how best to be a greeter for the school.

Marrus said, “Rose spoke regularly and spontaneously and spoke in a milieu in which academics are used to speaking themselves — fluently and graciously and in a way that made everyone feel happy and at home.”

He remarked that this quality was one of her strengths, and that people looked to her to “create a great family in the community.”

Martin Sampson, communications director for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, described Wolfe as a “giant in the Jewish community.”

She was a great Canadian committed to social justice, education and philanthropy, he said.

In 1999 Wolfe was inducted into the Order of Canada. “She is a defender of social justice, whose extensive and tireless involvement with many boards and committees has made her a dynamic contributor to society,” the citation read.

Wolfe was predeceased by her husband and is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Wolfe; her son, Jonathan, and daughter-in-law Amal Wolfe; and grandchildren Ryan, Jaimie, Michael and Rachel.

Funeral services will be held Monday at Benjamin’s Park Memorial Chapel.