John G. Dudash, Beverly Hills

Engineer loved to explore

Mark Hicks / The Detroit News

Years after he left his engineering job at Ford Motor Co., John Dudash kept a mechanical mind -- building model ships, deconstructing flashlights and trying to assemble computers.

"Everything he looked at, you could see his mind working to see how it worked," said his daughter Mary Beth Miller. "He would take things apart and put them back together just to do it... He was an engineer to the bone."

Mr. Dudash died Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. He was 88.

Born Sept. 14, 1921, in Virginia, he moved to Detroit with his family and graduated from Southwestern High School in 1939.

During World War II, he joined the Navy and served as an electrical division officer aboard the USS Marblehead, relatives said.

He later earned an electrical engineering degree from the University of Detroit and joined Ford, where he became a manufacturing engineering section supervisor, Miller said.

Retiring in 1980, Mr. Dudash also had his own consulting company for several years, she said.

A longtime member of the Birmingham Senior Men's Club, Mr. Dudash also loved golf and saving mementos from his travels to Russia, Egypt, China and other countries.

"He'd always bring a different hat from every place he went," his daughter said.

Other survivors include his wife, Gladys; daughters Susan Josselson, Joan Mot, Janet Suzak, Amy Robinson and Rebecca Dudash; and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by a son, Thomas J. Dudash.

Visitation is 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at A.J. Desmond & Sons, 32515 Woodward, Royal Oak. A funeral Mass is 10 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, 32340 Pierce, Beverly Hills.

Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 20300 Civic Center Dr., Ste 100, Southfield, MI 48076.