Terrence "Terry" Haughey Dolan

Born to Esther and Don Dolan, Terry grew up as one of four children, a family that later grew to eight when his mother remarried Albert James. To know him was to love him. A humble, kind, loyal, generous, and hard-working man whose life was defined by service for others, passion for learning, and love for his family.

From his earliest years, Terry was drawn to the water, sailing both competitively and for leisure on Gull Lake with a joy that never left him. A 1961 graduate of Gull Lake High School, he earned MVP honors in football, basketball, and tennis, led as Student Council president, and was recognized by the National Honor Society. After time at the University of Michigan, Terry felt called to join and serve in the Peace Corps in 1963 and spent two years in Peru, helping build bathrooms and install water lines for remote villages.

He returned home and never stopped serving. Combining his love of Latin culture and teaching, Terry spent 29 years as a high school Spanish teacher, first at Delton, then Plainwell, retiring with a perfect attendance record. When he wasn’t teaching, he coached football, directed athletics, coached girls basketball, and built homes every summer, including the one he and his wife Maria called home for 54 years. Among his proudest achievements was founding a student exchange program connecting his Spanish classes with a partner school in Mexico, giving young people a life-changing window into another world for 1 year.

Terry's love of basketball extended far beyond the classroom. He founded the Gull Lake Youth Basketball Association and later led Michigan's girls AAU basketball program for over a decade, organizing teams and tournaments statewide and even started an AAU team, Las Joyas. He and his daughter Noel, a college basketball player at Appalachian State, ran the Aim High facility in Lansing, MI together, continuing to invest in the next generation of women in the sport.

In his final chapter, Terry returned to his favorite place, Gull Lake, where family and friends gathered for fun in the water, sunsets, and the kind of unhurried conversation he cherished most. For over 20 years, that included weekly lunches with his lifelong best friend, Rick Shields, where the two would spend half the day putting the world right.

Terry is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Maria; his daughters and their spouses: Shawn (Scott Marlett), Noel (Kristin Haynie), and Carmen (Gideon Hyacinth); his grandchildren, Avery Dolan, Hudson Zappala, and Maya Hyacinth; and his siblings Pat Dolan, Stephanie Larsen, Chris Ellis, and Ellen Solaric.

His legacy lives on, and he will be deeply missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held on July 1, 2026, from 9am–12pm at The Dock at Bay View, 12504 E D Ave, Richland, MI 49083, with memory sharing beginning at 10am. Donations in Terry's name may be made to NPR at https://www.npr.org/donations/support. Personal messages for Terry's family may be shared at www.farleyestesdowdle.com.