David Wolgast
1944-08-26 2015-02-20
David passed away on February 20, 2015. He was married to Melinda (Midge) Snover for over 50 years and they have a daughter Heidi and a son David. He was unable to attend our 50th high school reunion due to his health. About two years ago Bill Lamarra and I visited with Dave and Midge at their very nice home in North Naples, a short boat ride from the Gulf. At that time Dave was having great difficulty breathing. He explained that a couple years earlier he had a heart attack and was in a coma for 2 weeks which did a lot of damage to his lungs. He was hoping to exercise and regain his lung capacity and strength.
Dave received a masters degree from UofM but I can't remember if it was in engineering or business. Following is a description of Dave's business career from Bloomberg.com:
Mr. David C. Wolgast, Dave serves as Managing Director of International Operations of BBK Southfield at BBK, Ltd. Mr. Wolgast helps clients analyze operational problems, detect root causes, develop quality systems, implement lean manufacturing and ready themselves for launch. His strategic planning/analysis and sales/marketing expertise is backed by more than 39 years of real-world experience in manufacturing, tooling, design and build, vehicle program development, product design and international programs. Mr. Wolgast has served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, President, Plant Manager, Lead Engineer and other key positions in the manufacturing sector. As Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Engineering, Mr. Wolgast’s management of the sales and marketing staff resulted in over $1 billion in annual opportunities. Mr. Wolgast served as Executive Vice President and President of the Manufacturing Group of Modern Engineering. He directed the entire Manufacturing Systems group, which consisted of 750 engineers and 350 tool makers in various sites. He purchased and implemented state-of-the-art computer software and hardware applications. As Corporate Offi cer, Mr. Wolgast applied corporation-wide planning processes that built executive relationships and resulted in penetration of new customer segments. In the 70s and 80s, Mr. Wolgast served as Senior Vice President of Modern 2000, General Manager of the Manufacturing Tool Design Group and Manager of Fisher Tooling Group.
Dave had a good life but it ended too early.
Dave received a masters degree from UofM but I can't remember if it was in engineering or business. Following is a description of Dave's business career from Bloomberg.com:
Mr. David C. Wolgast, Dave serves as Managing Director of International Operations of BBK Southfield at BBK, Ltd. Mr. Wolgast helps clients analyze operational problems, detect root causes, develop quality systems, implement lean manufacturing and ready themselves for launch. His strategic planning/analysis and sales/marketing expertise is backed by more than 39 years of real-world experience in manufacturing, tooling, design and build, vehicle program development, product design and international programs. Mr. Wolgast has served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, President, Plant Manager, Lead Engineer and other key positions in the manufacturing sector. As Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Engineering, Mr. Wolgast’s management of the sales and marketing staff resulted in over $1 billion in annual opportunities. Mr. Wolgast served as Executive Vice President and President of the Manufacturing Group of Modern Engineering. He directed the entire Manufacturing Systems group, which consisted of 750 engineers and 350 tool makers in various sites. He purchased and implemented state-of-the-art computer software and hardware applications. As Corporate Offi cer, Mr. Wolgast applied corporation-wide planning processes that built executive relationships and resulted in penetration of new customer segments. In the 70s and 80s, Mr. Wolgast served as Senior Vice President of Modern 2000, General Manager of the Manufacturing Tool Design Group and Manager of Fisher Tooling Group.
Dave had a good life but it ended too early.
Here is a picture taken following the 1982 class reunion at Dave's home on Middle Straights lake in Commerce twp. I believe his mother lived next door in a house that Dave purchased. In the picture are Bill Lamarra, Bill Shelton, Gerry Grandmaison (deceased), Dave, Wendell and Harry.
tribute by Harry Breniser