1929
Dorothy
2021
Dorothy E. Woolley
February 2, 1929 — December 29, 2021
Dorothy E. Woolley died at her home in Davis on December 29, 2021, at the age of 92. Dorothy was born on the family farm on February 2, 1929, in Wapakoneta, Ohio, and was the oldest of three children born to Urban Schumann and Esther (Starr) Schumann.
Dorothy started first grade in a one room country school which included eight grades and 20 total students in Freyburg, Ohio. In high school, she was active in 4-H, the Girls Athletic Association, the Photography Club, played the violin in the school orchestra and co-edited the school news section of the Wapakoneta Daily News.
After graduating from Blume High School in 1947, she enrolled at Bowling Green State University as a Music Instruction major and played the clarinet in the school band and the violin in the school orchestra. She changed her major and graduated in three years from Bowling Green in 1950 with bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Chemistry. She met her future husband Robert J. Woolley at Bowling Green and they married after graduation in September, 1950.
Dorothy worked as a reporter at the Wapakoneta Daily News from 1951-1953 while Robert served during the Korean War. She received a Master’s Degree in Physiology from the Ohio State University in 1957 and received a PH.D. in Physiology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1961.
Robert and Dorothy had three children, Kenneth, Nikki and Randall. They purchased a home in Davis in 1965 when Dorothy joined the faculty in the Department of Animal Physiology and the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the University of California, Davis. She was a professor of neurobiology and physiology for over 30 years, created several courses, published approximately 100 research papers and was the Chair of the Department of Animal Physiology from 1978 to 1982. Dorothy was a pioneer in the study of environmental toxicants as well as a pioneer for women in science. When she started at U.C. Davis only 3% of the faculty were women. She was a dedicated teacher and retired from teaching at U.C. Davis in 2004.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents Urban and Esther Schumann, brother Orville Schumann, sister-in-law Lois Schumann and brother-in-law Paul Lane. She is survived by her husband Robert Woolley, children Kenneth (Angelena) Woolley, Nikki Efigenio, Randall Woolley, six grand-children (Christopher Efigenio, Ericha Woolley, Michael Woolley, Erich Woolley, Jacob Woolley and George Woolley) and sister Marjorie Lane.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Dorothy started first grade in a one room country school which included eight grades and 20 total students in Freyburg, Ohio. In high school, she was active in 4-H, the Girls Athletic Association, the Photography Club, played the violin in the school orchestra and co-edited the school news section of the Wapakoneta Daily News.
After graduating from Blume High School in 1947, she enrolled at Bowling Green State University as a Music Instruction major and played the clarinet in the school band and the violin in the school orchestra. She changed her major and graduated in three years from Bowling Green in 1950 with bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Chemistry. She met her future husband Robert J. Woolley at Bowling Green and they married after graduation in September, 1950.
Dorothy worked as a reporter at the Wapakoneta Daily News from 1951-1953 while Robert served during the Korean War. She received a Master’s Degree in Physiology from the Ohio State University in 1957 and received a PH.D. in Physiology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1961.
Robert and Dorothy had three children, Kenneth, Nikki and Randall. They purchased a home in Davis in 1965 when Dorothy joined the faculty in the Department of Animal Physiology and the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the University of California, Davis. She was a professor of neurobiology and physiology for over 30 years, created several courses, published approximately 100 research papers and was the Chair of the Department of Animal Physiology from 1978 to 1982. Dorothy was a pioneer in the study of environmental toxicants as well as a pioneer for women in science. When she started at U.C. Davis only 3% of the faculty were women. She was a dedicated teacher and retired from teaching at U.C. Davis in 2004.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents Urban and Esther Schumann, brother Orville Schumann, sister-in-law Lois Schumann and brother-in-law Paul Lane. She is survived by her husband Robert Woolley, children Kenneth (Angelena) Woolley, Nikki Efigenio, Randall Woolley, six grand-children (Christopher Efigenio, Ericha Woolley, Michael Woolley, Erich Woolley, Jacob Woolley and George Woolley) and sister Marjorie Lane.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
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