Norman Honkala

Norman was born on May 23, 1947 in Highland Park, Michigan to Norman and Amelia (Laho) Honkala. He spent his early childhood years on a farm in Pelkie, Michigan and attended the Pelkie Agricultural School. His family returned to the Detroit area, where he attended school in Highland Park through tenth grade and moved to Berkley, Michigan, where he graduated from high school in 1964.

Norman received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Northern Michigan University in Marquette Michigan and was first employed as a social worker at Ferguson State Hospital in Newberry, Michigan. He married his wife, Maxine, August 3, 1968 and became employed by Michigan Rehabilitation Services in Marquette, Michigan, where he worked as a counselor and later became a regional manager for the Upper Peninsula, retiring in 2002.

In his retirement years, he and his wife made multiple trips to Europe, Alaska, and Hawaii, and spent the winter months in Lake Worth, Florida. He especially enjoyed his three trips to Finland. Norman was an avid golfer and spent quality time at his hunting camp in Ewen, Michigan with his son and grandsons. He cherished the time spent with his children and grandchildren, who each remember special moments with their dad and papa. He was a member of the Laestadian Lutheran Churches of Detroit and Florida and enjoyed the fellowship of his friends in faith.

Norman is survived by his wife Maxine, his daughter Mary Beth Strand, his daughter Julie Honkala, and his son Steven and daughter-in-law Annika Honkala. He has six grandchildren: Eliisa, Ashley, Natalie, and Caitlin Strand and Brandon and Ethan Honkala. He is also survived by two brothers: Charles (Joann) and Paul Honkala, two sisters: Susan (William) Koivula and Donna Honkala as well as his brother and sister-in-law, Peter and Donna Honkala. Numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins also survive him.

The family will greet friends and relatives at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home in Milford, Michigan on Friday, January 17th from 3:00 to 7:30 pm when a closing devotion and prayer will be held. The funeral service will be at Milford United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 18th at 11:00 am, and friends may call one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Glen Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Livonia, Michigan.