Joy to tragedy to celebration of life and love, Nov. 17

Devin Wolfe, 30, from River Vale, lived a life marked by love and connection. He and Lindsay were to be wed Nov. 17. Instead, his tragic passing has created space for a community gathering to celebrate this couple and Devin’s legacy.

PASCACK VALLEY—It was supposed to be their wedding day. Now it’s a memorial for a special young man and “A Celebration of Life and Love of Devin and Lindsay.” 

When in the late morning of Sept. 16 at Saint John the Baptist Church in Hillsdale, in the presence of hundreds of relatives, teammates, classmates, teachers, coaches, colleagues and friends of the late Devin Wolfe, Lindsay Coleman — Devin’s fiancée — concluded her reading of a New Testament scripture passage about life with God and love being eternal, the congregation erupted in applause. 

This public display of affection, admiration, and love for two special young people, Devin and Lindsay, suddenly became one of those unforgettable moments in the lives of all present.

Devin, 30, who grew up in River Vale, died in a car accident on Long Island on Saturday, Sept. 9, about two months prior to his and Lindsay’s wedding, planned for this Friday, Nov. 17. 

(See “Outpour of grief, love for Devin Wolfe, 30,” Pascack Press, Oct, 9, 2023.)

According to Msgr. Peter Smutelovic, throughout these past weeks, the outpouring of affection, admiration and love for Devin and Lindsay, and this symbolic “applause” to their precious love and relationship have continued far beyond Northern New Jersey. 

Smutelovic says Lindsay; Devin’s parents and his brother, Austin; Lindsay’s parents; “and all of us should not be alone on Nov. 17, family and friends agreed, and began to plan a special Mass and ‘A Celebration of Life and Love of Devin and Lindsay.’”

The event is Friday, Nov. 17  at 6.30 p.m. at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Hillsdale. All are welcome.

“We are so very grateful to all who continue to reach out and daily share with us the love and admiration which they have for Devin and Lindsay,” dad Joe Wolfe told Pascack Press.

He said, “Many people often ask what Devin was like. I tell them to ask his teachers, teammates, friends, relatives, his mom and his brother. They will all say that he brought joy and a constant smile to everyone’s face. His teammates will tell you that he always had their back, whether it be on the football filed or on the basketball court.” 

Amanda Vessa writes, “It was clear for anyone who spent time with Devin and Lindsay as a couple to know that they were soulmates. Together, they brought laughter and light to any room they entered. I am eternally grateful to have witnessed such beautiful and pure love between two of my close friends.”