John Hamel Obituary
He was the loving husband of Colette for 38 years and his greatest joys were their sons, Matt and Mark; and grandson, Otto. From him, they learned the value of family, hard work, honesty, and fairness.
John was the third child in a family of four and more than doubled his siblings by marrying into an even larger family who all mourn him greatly. He was their generational woodworker and Mr. Fixit. John loved a good Euchre game, a Miller beer, and a bowl of Cheez-Its. He was also an avid reader and complex puzzler.
John loved watching his boys play sports and volunteered as a coach for many years. He continued his fandom in the stands for his nieces and nephews. He was a Big10 stalwart, especially for his alma mater Penn State.
John had a long and varied career in the automotive industry. As the general manager at Lexamar, he earned the loyalty of those he supervised because of his fairness and work ethic. He was also a long-standing volunteer in assisting in tax return preparation for the underserved.
John was predeceased by his parents, Fred and Dorothy Hamel; and in-laws, Harvey and Marguerite Rouleau.
He is survived by his wife, Colette; son, Matt and his wife, Leslie; and son, Mark and his wife, Jess and their son, Otto.
His Hamel family: Dottie and her daughter, Erin; Barb and Greg, and her children, Ezra, Zeb, Naomi; and Rick and his children, James and Erica.
His Rouleau family: Mary and Carl; Christine and Christopher and their sons, Joey, Tony, and Danny; Joe and Marla and his daughter, Erica; Anne and Tony and his children, Andy, John, Kristin, and Kevin; Julie and Dan and their children, Erin, Daniel, William, and Maria; Janice; Harvey III and Colleen and their children, Yvonne, Harvey IV, and Sydney; Vince and Jessie and their children, Sam and Mia.
Family and friends are welcome to gather for visitation on Friday, March 8, 2024 from 3-8pm at Nie Funeral Home, 2400 Carpenter Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108. A funeral service will be held the following day, Saturday, March 9, 2024 at 11am, with visitation before at 10:30am.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations made in John's name to:
Alzheimer's Association online at: https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Events/Tributes-AlzheimersChampions?pg=fund&fr_id=1060&pxfid=865207
or
American Stroke Association online at: www.heart.org/en
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John Arthur, please visit our floral store.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
2 Entries
Curt Reynolds
March 2, 2024
Colette, Matt, Mark and Family, I was so very sorry to hear of John´s passing. My heart goes out to all of you. Your Husband, Father, Grandfather was truly a great man. I worked for him for many years. He was the best at steadying the ship and doing it with integrity and a smile. Great photo BTW. I loved working for him. I know you are going to miss him greatly. Just know that as you travel thru this difficult time you are in the thoughts and prayers of many.
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Mark Erndt
February 29, 2024
Colette - I am so sorry to hear of John's passing. He contributed to my successful career in so many ways. My 12 yrs spent in engineering, was a blessing to have John guide me through some challenges. He knew sheet metal very well and I had so many take aways from his knowledge. I respected John to no end. Everyone respected John! He was a GREAT leader to have on board. He worked with the team well and guided everyone in need. I'll never forget our time skiing or golfing together. He left us way too soon!
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