Obituary: Norman Lee Dault

Norman Lee Dault of Winter Garden, Florida, passed away peacefully at home at the age of 81 on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.

Norm was born January 16, 1943, in Grand Haven, Michigan, to the late Edward Sylvester Dault and Catherine Bernice Niemiec. Norm was their third child in a large and loving Catholic family.

Norm graduated from Grand Haven High School in 1961 where he found early success on the varsity football team. He then studied at Ferris State College until being drafted into the United States Army, serving in both Thailand and Vietnam as a member of the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade.

After being honorably discharged from the Army, Norm traveled to Florida for a getaway to visit his high school buddy, the late Garry Riemersma. Once he arrived in the Sunshine State, Norm realized he didn’t want to leave and that he would make Florida his new home.

In June of 1968, a chance encounter at Domestic Finance introduced him to the love of his life, Patricia Ann Jones of Winter Garden, Florida. After an adventurous courtship, they were engaged in July of 1969 and married December 13, 1969. By 1971, Norm and Pat welcomed their daughter, LeeAnn, and their son, Brett, followed in 1974. Over the years that followed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Norm could be found volunteering as a Baseball Coach with Winter Garden Little League and participating in YMCA Princesses and Guides with LeeAnn and Brett.

Professionally, Norm enjoyed a career in banking and served as Vice President of Orange Federal Savings and Loan in Winter Garden, later working as a mortgage broker both for large firms and in private practice. Later in his career, Norm served as a Fraud Investigator for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and in Disaster Assistance with the Small Business Administration.

For many years, Norm was civically active as a member of the Planning and Zoning Board for the City of Winter Garden. He was also involved in Kiwanis and served as a Board Member of the West Orange YMCA in their early years, working to establish a building in the West Orange area. Norm was also an avid sportsman, enjoying both hunting and fishing from his youth until he was no longer able to experience the outdoors as he once could. He picked up garden tools instead of his hunting gear in those later years, taking up gardening and landscaping his ever-changing tropical backyard oasis.

Norm was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Catherine Dault, and his sister, Louise Suchecki.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Patricia (Pat) Jones Dault; daughter, LeeAnn Brown of Woodinville, Washington; son, Brett Norman Dault of Winter Garden; brother, Edward Dault (Phyllis) of Grand Haven; sister, Jane Simonte of Grand Haven; sister, Catherine Bogdan of Martin, Michigan; grandson, Hayden Brown and granddaughter, Hayley Brown, both of Woodinville, Washington; and numerous nephews and nieces who he loved all dearly.

Arrangements are being handled by Woodlawn Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Gotha, Florida. The Memorial Service and Interment will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 20, 2024.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Jimmy Crabtree Cancer Fund (JCCF) in memory of Norm would be greatly appreciated. (jccancerfund.org).