Caroline Fritzsche Dooley passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 17, 2024. Diagnosed nearly six years ago with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, Caroline greeted every day with a smile and the opportunity to deepen her Catholic faith. Always a light to her family and those around her, Caroline will be missed by many. She was 66.
Caroline was born in Los Angeles on July 2, 1958. She grew up in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood with her parents, William and Dolores Fritzsche, and her six siblings. She attended Corpus Christi Parish school and Louisville High School. Caroline received her Bachelor of Architecture Degree from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo in 1982. While there, she met her husband, Paul W. Dooley, and they were married on October 1, 1988. They had two children, Michael (31, engaged to Ashley Mullin), and Kathleen (29, married to Krys Mihulka). Caroline served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras, Central America, from 1985 – 1988. While there she assisted in the design of schools, civic buildings and a church in Sangrelaya, a remote village on the Caribbean coast.
Caroline became a licensed architect in 1989 and has enjoyed 35 years of her own practice designing numerous custom homes in Southern California and other locations around the United States. A constant relationship builder, Caroline prided herself in the collaborative process with her clients to create homes that were very personal, as well as architecturally beautiful.
In lieu of flowers,please send donations to Catholic Relief Services:www.support.crs.org
Caroline Dooley had an award-winning firm specializing in custom, single family residences. She was recognized for designing contemporary homes with a peaceful, timeless quality. Recent projects feature old world detailing with the comfort of modern technologies.
The timeless quality of her homes spanned all styles - modern, contemporary and transitional architecture. She valued the passion the owners brought to the project. “My collaboration with an owner is creative and transparent,” Caroline said. “They inspired me beyond my own capabilities and the resulting design is magical.”