Dita Domonkos
In Memoriam
Dec 14, 1944—Jul 16, 2026
Our friend, Dita Domonkos, passed away suddenly at the age of 81 on Thursday, July 16.
Dita was raised in New York City, the only child of a concert pianist and an esteemed dermatologist. She attended the Nightingale Bamford School in New York City and Wheaton College, Norton, MA. She left Wheaton to follow Gene Altman, who she later married, when he attended Stanford Medical School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from San Jose City College. After earning her degree, Dita survived a horrific accident when, as a pedestrian, she was hit by a speeding car. She survived, spending 18 months in the hospital, when the odds were against her. She left the hospital independent, curious, and with an abundance of creative energy, determined to live life on her own terms. Her life was infused with discipline and determination, adventure, life-long learning, and an independent spirit. She was a remarkable person and a wonderful friend.
Dita’s accident influenced her careers. She earned a master’s degree in educational psychology. Her first job back in New York was as a counselor and subsequently a director of an institute focusing on schizophrenia and manic depression. Because she wanted to educate people about medicine and health, she turned to one of her life-long loves—filmmaking. Courageously, she applied to and attended NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. She spent ten years as documentary filmmaker focusing primarily on medical and health issues, first a director and producer for Vision Associates and then as senior vice president and executive producer for Shaw Health Partners. Although she predominantly made documentaries on health and medicine topics, including an important documentary on heart transplants, she also made a series on art for PBS. She was voted into the Directors Guild of America, and each year watched almost every new film in order to cast meaningful votes.
Again, her creativity, curiosity, and a desire to learn something new took her to the New York School of Interior Design where she earned a second bachelor’s degree, graduated with highest honors, and was recognized for her outstanding design, specially centered on health facilities. Her interior design work was done in NY and subsequently in Jacksonville, where she created DD Design, focusing on healing spaces within healthcare facilities to foster and support health transformations. Her spaces were warm, minimalist, and comforting. She was a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and served as a volunteer for the ASID Foundation.
Dita assembled a significant art collection—through personal acquisition and gifts from her family. Her collection included works by Frank Auerbach, David Hockney, Joan Miro, and Frank Stella, among others. She kept up on contemporary art from conversations with curators, artists, museum directors and informed friends; visits to museums and galleries; and trips to biennials in Miami, Venice, and Hong Kong. She met with and studied artists who sparked her interest. Moving to Jacksonville, she became a docent at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and a frequent visitor to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville. She has been a member of MOCA’s Board of Trustees since 2019 and became Board Chair on July 1 of this year. At MOCA, she has supported a host of initiatives including the 2018 MOCA NYE Party and MOCA’s centennial celebrations in 2024. She also served as the passionate chair of the Collections and Exhibitions Committee. Dita left much of her beloved art collection to MOCA Jacksonville and the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida.
Throughout her life, Dita was passionate about travel, driven by her curiosity, creativity, and strength. She was a master at assembling itineraries that were not for the faint of heart. In her 30s, she did half a dozen intense bike trips—through the Alps and the mountains in Hawaii. She co-owned a house on Harbor Island in the Bahamas and loved endurance swimming. Her travels, usually three or four major trips a year, across five continents were packed with visits to museums, galleries, and important sites, looking at architecture, visiting parks, and taking photos. To prepare for trips, she read up on the location’s history and culture as well as novels and even mysteries set in those locations. She was an informed traveler.
She is survived by a large circle of friends, especially at Fleet Landing in Jacksonville.
Dita requested that donations in her name be made to MOCA.