Philanthropist. The second wife of oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny. Born Carrie Estelle Betzold in Philadelphia, she moved to Los Angeles with her German immigrant parents in 1890. She met Doheny in 1899 while working as his company's telephone operator, and they married the following year. With her husband often away on business Carrie took charge of the family's personal expenses, including the management of their Chester Place and Beverly Hills estates, and donated large sums to various charities and institutions. Her most spectacular gift was the $1.1 million she provided for a library at USC in memory of her stepson, Edward L. "Ned" Doheny, Jr.. She also funded the construction of St. Vincent's Church in Los Angeles and buildings at Loyola Marymount University, and gave her rare book collection to the St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. For her services to the Catholic Church she was awarded the title Papal Countess by Pope Pius XII in 1939. Carrie was steadfastly supportive of her husband throughout his controversial career, and after his death in 1935 she carried out his last wish and destroyed all his personal papers. In 1949 she established the still-active Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation to perpetuate her charitable works. The Doheny home at Chester Place is now a campus of Mount Saint Mary's College.
Philanthropist. The second wife of oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny. Born Carrie Estelle Betzold in Philadelphia, she moved to Los Angeles with her German immigrant parents in 1890. She met Doheny in 1899 while working as his company's telephone operator, and they married the following year. With her husband often away on business Carrie took charge of the family's personal expenses, including the management of their Chester Place and Beverly Hills estates, and donated large sums to various charities and institutions. Her most spectacular gift was the $1.1 million she provided for a library at USC in memory of her stepson, Edward L. "Ned" Doheny, Jr.. She also funded the construction of St. Vincent's Church in Los Angeles and buildings at Loyola Marymount University, and gave her rare book collection to the St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. For her services to the Catholic Church she was awarded the title Papal Countess by Pope Pius XII in 1939. Carrie was steadfastly supportive of her husband throughout his controversial career, and after his death in 1935 she carried out his last wish and destroyed all his personal papers. In 1949 she established the still-active Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation to perpetuate her charitable works. The Doheny home at Chester Place is now a campus of Mount Saint Mary's College.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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