Sally Jane Dorenbusch

Sally Jane (O'Brien) Dorenbusch, the daughter of Harold J. and Florence C. O'Brien, passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 7, 2025. Sally was born December 1, 1935 in Toledo, Ohio and graduated from St. Patrick's High School in Wyandotte, Michigan in 1954. While attending St. Pat's, Sally sang in the choir and held starring roles in several theatrical productions. In 1954, Sally entered St. Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana to begin work on her bachelor's degree and pursue her dream to become a teacher.
Sally completed her Bachelor of Arts at St. Mary's College on May 13, 1959. Following graduation, Sally began her teaching career at St. Mary's Academy in South Bend. While teaching, Sally enrolled in a master's program at the University of Notre Dame, which she attended during night school. It is a little-known fact that although Notre Dame was an all-men's school in the 1960s, some graduate programs were open to women in their night school programs only. Sally earned her Master of Arts Degree in Teaching from the University of Notre Dame on August 3, 1963. This was a rare accomplishment for a woman in the 1960s, as Notre Dame did not officially become coeducational until they began admitting undergraduate women in the Fall of 1972.
While teaching and working on her graduate degree, Sally met William Dorenbusch, a doctoral student who later earned his PhD in Physics from Notre Dame in1963. Bill and Sally fell in love, and were married in South Bend, Indiana on February 4, 1964. Upon graduation, Bill joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he taught for 5 years. Sally continued her teaching career while living in Cambridge.
Sally and Bill later moved to Farmington Hills, Michigan. Sally joined the staff of Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills, teaching English Literature. Bill joined the faculty of Wayne State University in Detroit as a professor of Physics. Sally and Bill taught for more than 30 years until they both retired in 2000. Sally and Bill did not have children of their own, but they both made their careers as educators, teaching and inspiring the children of others. As they transitioned into retirement, Sally and Bill built their dream home in Milford, Michigan.
Sally had many interests, including gardening, quilting, singing, drama, sewing, and reading. She was an avid reader with an extensive library of favorite titles. She and Bill would often make the trip to Stratford in Canada to attend the annual Shakespeare festival. One way in which Sally and Bill's interests came together was in creating doll houses. Bill was a self-taught, master carpenter, who produced many pieces of intricate furniture, music boxes, and doll houses over the years. Sally used her wonderful sewing skills to create beautiful furnishings within the dollhouses, all to scale. Sally was well known at her church in Milford, St. Mary Our Lady of the Snows where she spent countless hours doing volunteer work across multiple organizations.
Sally is survived by her sister, Jacqueline Nolan of Royal Oak, Michigan; her sister-in-law Joan O'Brien of Wyandotte, Michigan; her husband Bill's brother John Dorenbusch (and wife Louise) of Columbus, Indiana; Bill's sister Jane Cassidy of Cincinnati, Ohio; sister-in-law Bonnie Dorenbusch of Franklin, Ohio, and many nieces and nephews, as well as grand-nieces and nephews.
Sally was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers John James O'Brien, Joseph O'Brien and Gerald O'Brien, brothers-in-law Carl Frebes, Vincent Nolan and Thomas Dorenbusch, her sisters, Sr. Catherine O'Brien, Sisters of the Holy Cross, Mary Ann Frebes, Patricia Ann O'Brien and sisters-in-law, Winona O'Brien and Helen Hollingshead. Sally was also preceded in death by Bill's sister, Sr. Ann Dorenbusch, Sister of Charity, and Bill's brother-in-law Thomas Cassidy.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Mary Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church, 1955 E Commerce St, Milford on Friday, March 13, 2026. Visitation will begin at 10:00 am in the church narthex with the funeral mass beginning at 11:00 am. Burial will be held following mass at St. Mary's Cemetery, 60 E Summit St, Milford, which is approximately 1.5 miles from the church. A luncheon will be served at St. Mary's church following the burial at the cemetery.