Burton Onofrio, Auctioneer
Chris and Penny Wolf, Chairs
Burton Onofrio recently retired as Attending Neurosurgeon at the
Autumn Art Auction Committee
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, where he also served as Professor of Neurosurgery in the Mayo Medical School. His first
Chris and Penny Wolf, Chairs
job after retirement was as Senior Consultant for Pain Disorders,
Alan Mulhern
Neurosurgical Service, Massachusetts General Hospital in
Heather and David Schall
Boston. His training includes an M.D. degree from the Medical
Jill and Mark Sczepanski
College of Cornell University (1957); a surgical residency at the
Bonnie Sobolik
New York Hospital Medical Center (1958); and a fellowship at
Holly Undlin
the Mayo Clinic in neurosurgery (1964), all of which resulted in
Ken Vein
a life-time career at the Mayo Clinic.
Devera Warcup
As busy as his professional career has been, he has also lived a wonderful life within the arts. It began when he married Judy Onofrio, a self-taught potter who has emerged as a sculptor of national stature. Judy was deeply involved in the Rochester Art Center, and Burton soon joined the Board of Directors. Most recently—another retirement job—he co-chaired the Capital Campaign Building Committee of the Rochester Art Center. The new building opened in the spring of 2004 with the central gallery named in honor of Judy and Burton Onofrio—gifted by a former patient.
Penny and Chris Wolf reside in Grand Forks with their two children. Keaton is in second grade at Kelly Elementary, and Georgia is 1 year old. Penny is originally from Cavalier, ND. She has been a cosmetologist for 16 years. The last 3 years, she has been a salon coordinator. She is currently the salon coordinator for Salon Seva, which recently opened in September. Chris grew up in Grand Forks. He is a certified public accountant. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Brown Corporations. He
In another corner of his life, Onofrio runs art auctions. For
is on the board of the Community Foundation of Grand Forks,
twenty-six years he was the auctioneer of the Rochester Art
EGF, and region.
Center annual auction, most often organizing it as well. Both the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota Art Department have called upon him to serve as auctioneer. For twelve years he has been the announcer of the Rochester Art Center Art Festival. Onofrio’s days, however, are spent in Judyland, the garden he created with his wife. And finally, this is a man who loves animals, in particular his menagerie of cats who have full run of the garden.
Photograph by Christy Doyea Photography