Norman Dolinski

Norman "Norm" Dolinski was born on May 18th, 1946 in Detroit to Francis and Henry Dolinski. His childhood was filled with lots of travel to various states and provinces throughout the US and Canada, and spending summers at the family cottage in Northern Michigan. He attended grade school at St Stanislaus, and high school at De La Salle, both in Detroit. Like his father, Norm had a strong aptitude for all things mechanical. He worked at his father's gas station as a teenager, where he learned about cars and furthered his troubleshooting and mechanical skills. He was also inspired to get into engineering by his older cousin Ed. Norm started at Ford Motor company in 1967, following in his grandfather Joseph's footsteps. His specialty was climate control -- heating and air conditioning. Starting as a technician, he later earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lawrence Tech. He had several milestones during his career. Early on, he worked in the wind tunnels, working long hours while concurrently going to night school for his engineering degree. After graduating, he was promoted to a role in Engineering. He worked as a resident engineer in Hermosillo MX. Upon returning, he was promoted to Design Supervisor where he oversaw fixing numerous issues with a new product. He always put honesty, integrity, and doing things right above all else and would not bend these principals for political considerations. His passion for doing the right thing earned him the nickname "The Conscience of Climate Control". Later in his career, he moved on to Reliability Engineering. He stayed in this role with Ford (later Visteon) until 2009, at which point he retired. During his final few years he regularly met his son Peter for lunch, who happened to work nearby. Norm's wife Deborah "Deb" (Szymanski) was the daughter of family friends. They married in 1977, and remained married until the date of his passing (47 years). Deb was the love of his life and he would do anything for her. Norm had 2 children: Elizabeth "Elly" (Jason) and Peter "Pete" (Andrea "Annie"). He has three grandchildren: Samantha "Sammie", Benjamin "Benny," and Alice. For Peter and Andrea's marriage, he became ordained and presided over the wedding. Norm had several hobbies and interests. He had a lifelong passion for boating and being on the water. As a young man, he had a small 3 point hydroplane that he and his friends fixed up and got running. Later, he had a classic Chris Craft wooden runabout which he took his future wife on. After this, he got into sailing with his future brother in law Paul Nuccilli when they purchased a Catalina 27 sailboat. Later still, he had a powerboat cruiser that he frequently took his family out on, instilling a love for the water in them as well. Later in life he still regularly went out on the water with his son Peter and family. He prided himself on having extensive knowledge of boating. Norm's interest in technology went outside his specific engineering career. Bridge design, military and aviation, and the space program are just some of the topics he enjoyed. He was always open for a good technical talk. Norm also was an avid woodworker. He built everything small to large over the years, from wooden toys for his childrens santa shop at school, all the way up to building a family room. The family room was designed by him, and largely built by him as well. Norm was also supremely handy and could fix pretty much anything. Norm started camping in the 1990s with daughter Elly's girl scout camping trips. After an unfortunate event of water spilling into the tent, he purchased a popup and then later a full size travel trailer. He continued camping regularly with Deb and family right up until the end. Norm was passionate about everything he did and always strived to do the best job he could in all areas of life. His storytelling ability, intellect, sense of humor, and love of his family will be dearly missed. Funeral Mass will take place at St Joan of Arc Church in St Clair Shores on October 19th 2024, from 10AM to 11AM. Lunch will follow.

Norman Dolinski

May 18, 1946 - September 7, 2024