Michael Alan Doyle

Michael Alan Doyle was born on March 15, 1938 at 1:30 PM in St. Vincent's Hospital in Billings, Montana to George Joseph Doyle and Genevieve Burns Doyle. He was the oldest of 4 children. His three sisters are Susan Ludvigson of Henderson, NV, Nancy Gingerelli of Henderson, NV and Patricia Doyle of Minneapolis, MN. He was preceded in death by his parents. Michael started his life being late for lunch which may be one of the reasons why he tried to never be late. Michael graduated from Aberdeen Central High School and enrolled at Northern State College in the Fall of 1956. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1958, and spent his 33 months of active duty at Camp Hanford, WA protecting Plutonium Plants, and was discharged in 1960. He graduated from South Dakota School of Mines in May 1965, and went to work for Control Data Corporation in Minnesota as a Mechanical Design Engineer, where he worked for 24 years. Michael married Shirley Ann Henning on December 26, 1961, and in 1967 they moved to a new home in Blaine, MN where their two sons Scott Alan and Timothy John were born in July 1968 and May 1972, respectively. Michael and Shirley moved to Rochester, MN in 1990 where he began work with IBM until retirement in June 2000. During his 35-year career in the computer industry, Michael held engineering and management positions in research, product development, industrial design and manufacturing engineering. After a few years of retirement, Michael got involved in a partnership called Efficient Memory Technology where 4 patents were obtained concerning new computer architecture. During their time in Blaine, Michael coached 13 years of little league baseball, 5 years of football, 5 years of basketball, and 2 years of soccer, and counseled merit badges for the Boy Scouts while serving for 6 years on the Blaine Planning and Zoning Commission. He was also a train enthusiast, and volunteered at the Twin City Model Train Museum in his spare time. Later in life Michael discovered a love for his motorcycle and the open roads of southern Minnesota. He was the kind of man who could make best friends in a room full of strangers in mere minutes. Through church, coaching, and Boy Scouts he influenced the lives of many youth and adults. The funeral and a light lunch will take place at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church at 1212 12th Avenue NW, Rochester MN on Monday, August 29th at 11 o'clock. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, SD. In lieu of flowers, donations to the church would be appreciated. Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Doyle family; to share a special memory or condolence please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com.