Donald Arthur Kolehmainen
LANSING — Donald Arthur Kolehmainen passed away after a brief illness on October 23, 2021. At the time of his death, he had recently moved into a retirement community near Lansing after living with each of his daughters during the pandemic.
Don had just enjoyed three weeks with his son, which allowed him a final visit to Detroit and the Upper Peninsula.
Don was born on August 21, 1932, at his grandparents’ home in Tapiola.
When Don was 8, his mother passed away, resulting in Don learning to fend for himself at an early age.
Don left the Copper Country shortly after graduating from Jeffers High School in Painesdale, moving to Minneapolis and downstate Michigan prior to joining the Navy during the Korean War. Don served as a radio operator in the Navy in Texas for two years before returning to Michigan and work on the Grand Trunk Railroad.
In 1956, Don joined the Detroit Police Department and moved to Detroit, where he married Marcia Bastian and raised their three children. After a long career as a Detroit police officer, Don retired as a lieutenant and thereafter devoted himself to golf, a love of baseball, the American Legion, current events and visits to the casino.
Returning to Hancock in the Copper Country in 1998, Don developed a special relationship with the love of his life, Helen Salani.
Don was predeceased by his parents, Arne and Sigrid Kolehmainen; sister, Lois Sweeney; ex-wife, Marcia Kolehmainen, and Helen Salani.
He is survived by Kim (George) Vincent of Cincinnati, Donald (Kristy) Kolehmainen of Laguna Niguel, California, Shari (John) Burg of Grand Ledge; grandchildren, Doug (Melissa) Vincent, Dan Vincent, Laura (Ed) Stein, Jessica Burg, John Burg, Benjamin Kolehmainen and Sarah Kolehmainen and six great grandchildren; two half-siblings, Karen Kolehmainen and David Kolehmainen, and Louie, his favorite dog.
The family will conduct a private service in Don’s memory at a time in the future.
In lieu of flowers, Don would have appreciated a gift to either the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund mlb.com/reds/community/rcf/donation or the Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, 527 Hancock St., Hancock, MI 49930 houghton.littlebrothers.org
The family has entrusted arrangements to Mills Funeral Home, Peters & Murray Chapel, Grand Ledge. For online condolences, please visit petersandmurrayfuneralhome.com.