May 12, 2021 Share This:
Ernest (Ernie) H. Dondis, professor emeritus of psychology who helped launch Cal State Fullerton’s graduate program in clinical psychology, died April 17. He was 96.
Dondis joined the faculty of a young Department of Psychology at Cal State Fullerton in 1966. He served two terms as department chair, and is remembered as an effective administrator who set the tone for collegiality and academic rigor during years of rapid growth for the department and the university.
Dondis was instrumental in establishing a Master of Science degree in clinical psychology that was grounded in psychological science. In addition to teaching courses for the new degree program, Dondis served as its graduate coordinator and as a graduate committee member. Dondis continued to serve on numerous department and university committees during his 23 years at Cal State Fullerton.
Ernest Dondis.
Ernest Dondis.
CORONA DEL MAR, California Ernest Dondis, born June 10, 1924, passed away on peacefully on April 17, 2021 in his home surrounded by family.
Known as Ernie by his friends and Dr. Dondis by his students, Ernest was born in Rockland, Maine when a loaf of bread cost 9 cents. He was the youngest son of James and Ida Dondis, who settled in the area along with other family members and were prominent among the Jewish families who helped to establish the Adas Yoshuron Synagogue. James Dondis opened a candy store to supply patrons of the Strand movie house next door, operated by his brother, and used his four sons, Ernest, Phillip, Joseph, and Maurice, to deliver candy supplies for movie goers. His sisters Ruth, Edith, and Bertha helped mother Ida bake her weekly batch of fresh bread for the family and attend to other household needs. Ernest attended Hebrew School and received his bar mitzvah, practicing the moral tenets of Judaism to choose goodness and hel
Edith D. Dondis.
Edith D. Dondis.
ROCKLAND Edith D. Dondis, age 100, passed away peacefully in her family home on December 21, 2020.
Edith, one of nine children, was born to James and Ida Pollock Dondis on June 13, 1920.
Edith was a pillar of strength and has always lived her life as a strong, independent woman, even at a time when it wasn’t fashionable to do so. As a young woman Edie served our country in WWII as the first enlisted Rockland girl in the Waves. Edith went on to study retail/fashion at Chamberlain College in Boston, and then furthered her education, completing her degree in accounting, at Bryant University in Providence, Rhode Island.