Mike Donoughe

Born on 13 December 1958

Suddenly Entered Heaven on 2 July 2022

Mike Donoughe was the devoted, kind, and loving husband of 40 years to Michele (Shelley) P. Donoughe (Plato), proud father of David Michael (Emily), Kaitlin Michele (Jonathan Cischke), and Kelly Frances (Oliver Helfrich), and honored grandfather of 7: Jack David & Whitney James Donoughe, Michael Martin, Samuel Jonathan & Thomas David Cischke, and Jane Michele & Olivia Frances Helfrich. Mike was the loving son of Patrick and Betty (Walchli) Donoughe (both departed). Mike was the second youngest of six siblings - Tom of Rochester, Michigan (departed), Deb (departed) (Bill Oller) of North Olmstead, Ohio, Pat (Maureen Ruffing) of Rocky River, Ohio, Tim (Toni Lynn Signorelli) of Willoughby, Ohio, and Mary Kay (Kevin Schneider) of Avon Lake, Ohio. He was a wonderful uncle to 22 nieces and nephews, including a special role he held for his nephew and godson Matthew Donoughe. Mike was also a dear & dedicated friend, colleague, leader, positive influence, and mentor to many throughout his life. Faith, Family, Friends - Mike was a testament to the “3 F’s”.

Mike built and lived his life around his favorite sayings - “Max(VoL)” - Maximize the Value of your Life and “Max S.I.P.E.” - strive to maximize yourself Spiritually, Intellectually, Physically, and Emotionally. He demonstrated these sayings with utmost integrity to their fullest extent.

First - Spiritual: Mike was a spiritual and faithful man, a way of life he learned from his parents Pat and Betty, and continued to nurture and model for his own children and grandchildren. He walked in devotion and love with Shelley as they raised their children in the Catholic faith. You could find Mike most Sundays at 8am in the back of St. Andrew’s Parish praying deeply. Mike always gave his grandchildren the sign of the cross on their foreheads with his thumb when saying goodbye. In 2007, Mike and his daughter Kelly started a nonprofit organization called the Cornerstone Youth Development Fund (CYDF) to honor Mike’s parents and their close Jesuit priest friend Father Hattie, and to invest in underprivileged youth in Detroit and Eastern Africa.

Second - Intellectual: Mike attended the University of Toledo where he met the love of his life Shelley in the cafeteria their freshman year. He followed in his father’s footsteps, earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1981. Mike’s many professional pursuits and successes began in an engineering leadership program at US Steel in 1982, and then he built an illustrative 25 year-long career at Chrysler. While he and Shelley raised their 3 children, he attended years of night school and obtained his master’s degree in mechanical engineering (Wayne State University, 1986) and his master’s in business administration (University of Michigan Ross School of Business, 1991). Mike achieved balance in his life with excellence. He led several product creation projects at Chrysler, notably he is one of the inventors of Autostick, delivering automatic transmission manual shifting capability. He led the innovation of the Stow ‘N Go seating systems on Chrysler minivans. Donoughe also spent three years with DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart, Germany, as director of passenger car development and all-purpose vehicles, and he was the brilliant inventor and creator of the integrated bottle opener you can find underneath the R-Class cup holders. Upon his return to the United States, Donoughe served as the Vice President of Family Vehicles, bringing the Pacifica and revamped minivan lines to market. He then served as Vice President of Body On Frame engineering, successfully delivering all BoF programs, notably the all new Jeep Wrangler and the all new Dodge Ram programs. In 2008, Mike joined Tesla Motors where he and Shelley lived their next adventure on the west coast. Mike was the Executive Vice President of Vehicle Engineering and Manufacturing, leading the development of the Model S. He and Shelley then set their sights to return to Michigan where Mike remained in the startup world as the Chief Operating Officer of Bright Automotive, leading a team of talented individuals to create and launch an electrified delivery van, which proved to be ahead of its time. Mike then applied his brilliant mind and know-how to launch a consulting company, Third Shore Group, with a few close colleagues. He had his hand in a variety of industries, projects, and companies helping them maximize their potential and bring new technologies to market. He also served as a co-founder of Noble Gas Systems, and as board member on SinoEV Technologies, Proterra, and Thursday Pools Inc. Mike then joined Polaris Industries in 2018, where he held his most recent post as Chief Technical Officer & Head of Electrification. His role and most importantly the people at Polaris brought him immense joy, fun, and satisfaction. A particular highlight was the Annual Polaris Profit Sharing Pig Roast, for which he helped strategize and execute the in-house design and build of massive smokers, complete with CAE CFD analysis for optimized smoking. Mike brought fervor, humor, humility, and dedication to all around him. In short, he was a clever inventor, leader, and titan of industry.

Third - Physical: Mike was an athlete and a man who was always on the move. An avid and passionate runner, basketball player, golfer and weightlifter - you could often find him on the stairmaster at Lifetime Fitness “cranking out some floors” while reading his latest spy novel. He completed many endurance running events including the Zermatt and Jungfrau Marathons in the Swiss alps, TransRockies race in Colorado with his daughter Kelly, and countless other trail runs. He maintained his passion for playing basketball throughout his life as well - beginning in his youth and later with his brothers and dear friend Dave Presley - calling themselves “The 5 Ds” in the St. Ignatius basketball tournament. Mike also competed in Gus Macker, and most recently was playing in honor of his brother Tom at the OPC in Rochester, always “going hard in the paint”. He and Shelley enjoyed kayaking, vacation hiking trips, traveling to new places, and golfing. He also coached his son and daughters in basketball through their middle school years, and was the assistant coach for his son-in-law Oliver’s Troy middle school girls team. Mike loved hunting, fishing, and going on excursions with his son and sons-in-law, friends, and daughter Kait. He took his family on many golf trips, including a recent “Family Fivesome” outing to Las Vegas, and found glee in playing “greenies” and “penny-a-yard” with his son David, which usually was an even match. Mike and Shelley spent their Sundays going from sporting event to sporting event to watch their grandkids play football, baseball, and soccer.

Fourth - Emotional: Simply put, Mike was ROCK SOLID. He served as the glue and leader of his family and mentored countless people and friends throughout his life. He had many sayings he created to help guide himself and others in decision making and maintaining a healthy emotional balance. A few that stand out: “The easy road becomes the hard road and the hard road becomes the easy road.” KTIP - Keep Things In Perspective. ABH - Always Be Hungry. ABL - Always Be Learnin’. PMA - Positive Mental Attitude. And of course the 6Ps, Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. He learned from his parents to invest strongly in his marriage with Shelley and his family. Mike had perfected the “work/life divide” - when he walked in the door at the end of the day he was 100% focused on being a husband and father. Mike had special activities with each of his kids that he invested in often. This started when the kids were toddlers when Mike made it a point to rotate Saturdays where he designed a special outing with each of the kids individually. Later as their kids got older the activities evolved: David - golf, brewing beer, and discussions on finance and investing. Kait - hunting and fishing outings and regular lunch dates to their favorite spot for beers to talk about current events, automotive industry news, and close mentorship. Kelly - trail running, CYDF, and going to Church on Sundays together then getting green tea and coffee afterwards.

In summary, Mike did not waste a single moment of his life. As Shelley likes to say, he did not live his life like a candle in the wind, but like a blow torch, giving everyone and everything he engaged in his all. He truly appreciated all blessings and moments, and made the most of his time here - Heaven has gained the most incredible angel.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that memorial donations be made to the Cornerstone Youth Development Fund, to carry on Mike’s legacy of enabling youth to build the basic foundation to maximize themselves spiritually, intellectually, physically and emotionally throughout their lives.

http://cornerstoneydf.org

Arrangements:

Visitation: Thursday July 7th 2-7pm

Pixley Funeral Home

322 W University Dr, Rochester, MI 48307

Funeral Mass: Friday July 8th 11am

St. Andrews Catholic Parish

1400 Inglewood Ave, Rochester, MI 48307

Immediately following the Funeral Mass, all are welcome to join the family for a luncheon at

Royal Park Hotel

600 E. University Dr

Rochester, MI