Ed Donofrio was in the US Marines, based in Quantico, Virginia, at the time of the 1976 Olympics. He attended the US Naval Academy, graduating in 1973, then served one year in Vietnam, and later obtained a graduate degree in management from Pepperdine University in 1977. While at the Naval Academy Donofrio was the 1973 Eastern Intercollegiate Fencer of the Year. He later prospered in the air conditioning industry, serving as President of Sun Ray Enterprises in the later 1980s, and then President of Airflow, a company that manufactured air conditioning systems for computer rooms and telecommunications centers.