Dolores U. Olness

Dolores U. Olness died July 18, 2024. She was 89.

Olness was born on March 20, 1935, to Manuel and Josephine Belle (Wyrick) Urquiza in Kingsport, Tennessee, where she lived throughout her youth. She graduated from Dobyns-Bennet High School in 1953 and enrolled thereafter at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, majoring in physics. She went on to receive her Ph.D. in atomic physics in 1961.

Accepting a post-doctoral position at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in nearby Chapel Hill, she was an early participant in laser studies. In 1963, after two years at UNC, she moved to Livermore to work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). She worked on and off as her schedule permitted while managing a home and raising three children. Eventually, she became a full-time senior scientist, initially in the laser field and later in the chemistry department. The latter assignment found her working on underground coal gasification, a technology studied by the Soviets in an area currently in the news, the Donetsk region of Ukraine. She retired from LLNL in 1993.

She is survived by Robert, her husband of 67 years, children ,James (Jennifer Do), Gwendolyn (Patrick Dooley), Michael (Dana Knecht), and grandchildren Samuel and Melissa Dooley, and Oliver Olness.

Plans for a memorial service remain uncertain at this time. Donations honoring her memory can be sent to Open Heart Kitchen or SPCA International. The family welcomes reminiscences recalling your experiences with her. It keeps her alive in memory. Send them to deeolness [at] gmail.com (this address).deeolness [at] gmail.com ( )