CASEY LORNE DONOHO II
Casey Lorne Donoho, 74, beloved husband, father, brother, and friend passed away on February 10, 2023, after a short, valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.
Casey was born on August 15, 1948 in Inglewood, California. He was raised in Los Angeles, Catalina Island, and Mt. Shasta, California. His fondest memories growing up were playing at the beach and sailing Sabbath sailboats in Avalon Harbor with friends.
He collected nickels and dimes to buy baseballs at the sporting goods store as a teenager, and sold salt water taffy and ice cream at Lloyd’s of Avalon.
He met his wife, Dianne, at College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California. Casey was giving guitar lessons to Dianne’s brother Craig at the time, and Dianne decided to cook spaghetti for Casey after a lesson hoping to be asked on a date. It worked. They were married on December 20, 1968, a traditional date in Dianne’s family. Casey went on to graduate from University of Southern California with a degree in Trombone music performance in 1971. He played bass guitar in the Kenny Davis Road Show for several years. In 1980, he graduated with a BA in Economics at Chico State. Before and during his studies at Chico State, he worked in consumer electronics first as a sales person, then manager and owner of the Golden Ear Stereo store. He completed his MBA at Chico State in 1984 and earned a Marketing PhD from the University of Oregon in 1990.
Casey was passionate about the benefits of higher education and spent 38 years as a Marketing professor at several universities including Chico State, Northern Arizona University, and University of Missouri Kansas City. He had numerous publications in many prestigious journals in marketing and ethics. Recently retired, he enjoyed watching USC football and Dodger baseball, cycling, playing the trombone, listening to music and watching movies in his home theater, and taking trips to the beach. He had good vacation negotiation skills with his family – he would tolerate Disneyland for a day or two as long as they agreed to some time at the beach. Casey was always curious about life and keen to learn. He was also very generous. If you shared a bowl of tortilla chips with him at a restaurant, he’d break the last chip up into pieces so that everyone could enjoy one last bite.
Casey is survived by his wife of 54 years, Dianne, his two daughters, Kelly Burgess and Carrie Donoho, his two granddaughters, Isabelle and Greta, and his two sisters, Patti and Dusty. He was preceded in death by his father, Casey, and his mother, Jeanette.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Casey’s name can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or the Butte County Humane Society in honor of Casey’s beloved dog Ernie.
His family would like to thank Enloe Medical Center and Enloe Hospice for their extraordinary care and kindness. A celebration of Casey’s life will take place at a later date.