Carol Ann Neisess D’Onofrio, a professor emerita at the School of Public Health of the University of California, Berkeley, died on April 14 after a long battle with cancer. She was 84 years old.
A native of Conrad, Montana, D’Onofrio grew up in Enterprise, Oregon, and spent her high school years in Walla Walla, Washington. She graduated magna cum laude with degrees in English and education from the University of Washington, where she was voted the university’s most outstanding woman.
Dr. D’Onofrio went on to receive both her master’s degree and her doctorate in public health at the University of California, Berkeley. She became a tenured professor in 1979.
D’Onofrio devoted her career to creating and assessing public health programs for marginalized communities, including youth, ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities, the poor and those in need of hospice care. She focused her work on curtailing tobacco and alcohol use among rural youth, increasing the availability of breast and cervical cancer screening, and improving access to end-of-life care.