Michael "Mike" Hollatz Obituary

Michael (Mike) Hollatz, 62, of Andover, MN, passed away peacefully on December 19th, 2021 and is now with his Heavenly Father. 

Mike was born on May 18th, 1959 to Marvin and JoAnn Hollatz in Carrington, ND. After graduating in 1977 from Carrington High School while spending much of his time golfing, playing trombone, and singing in the school choir, he went on to study Architectural Drafting at North Dakota State School of Science. 

After graduating in 1979, he held various jobs in his field which led him to work for Structural Products in Fargo, ND. In 1982, he met Lori on a blind date but later fell in love when they reconnected on the dance floor on New Year’s Eve. After moving to Arizona together in 1985, they surprised everyone by eloping in Las Vegas in 1988. They went on to have two children, Kayla and Zach. 

In Tucson, Mike was employed by Architects Associated and later, SMU Mechanical Engineering until the family decided to move back to Minnesota to be closer to family—certainly not for the cold weather! After moving in 1999, Mike went into business with his brother Kevin in Kevin’s landscape maintenance business, Greenway, Inc. They worked together for six years before selling the business. Mike took this as an opportunity to teach himself AutoCAD in order to get back into his field and was soon hired by G&R Elevator Manufacturing where he spent 15 years as a Mechanical Designer in the Engineering Department. 

Mike was known for his fun-loving, gentle spirit and hard work ethic. His kindness is remembered by all who knew him. Always the organizer, Mike loved working on projects around the house and creating container planters for his backyard jungle. He was a creative problem solver who often said, "Let me draw you a diagram of that!" He loved playing golf, taking road trips with his family, lifting weights, biking to work, admiring mid-century architecture, watching Vikings games, and listening to anything from Michael Jackson to Spanish guitar on his garage stereo. 

Anyone who knew Mike knew that he was a kind and loving husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend. Mike was predeceased by his father, Marvin Hollatz. He is survived by his favorite wife Lori Erickson Hollatz, his favorite daughter Kayla (Evan) Hollatz Mitchell, and his favorite son Zach Hollatz. He is also survived by his mother, JoAnn Hollatz, along with his six siblings: Crystal (Mark) Larson, Dawn (Tom) Spanton, Joy (Dean) Porter, Vickie (Tim) Nelson, Kevin (Angie) Hollatz, and Stacey (Robert) Vogelwede. Mike also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, lifelong friends, wonderful co-workers, and all his friends in the Crane Street ‘Hood! 

There will be a visitation at Thurston Deshaw Funeral Homes at 13817 Jay St. NW Andover, MN 55304 on Friday, January 7th from 5 pm to 8 pm. Mike’s celebration of life service will be held in the same location on Saturday, January 8th at 11 am with an additional visitation at 10 am. MASKS ARE REQUIRED. To honor Mike’s love of the Vikings, we invite you to join us in your Vikings gear or simply wear purple and yellow during Friday’s visitation.