Norman Mottl

Norm Mottl passed on at Bay Bluffs on March 5, 2025. Norman Joseph Mottl entered the world on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1932 to parents Alice Hokanson Mottl and Joseph J. Mottl.  He prided himself on being a “depression baby” as he grew up in Menominee, Michigan.  Always a diligent worker in whatever the job, Norm spent hours during high-school at the local newspaper, The Herald Leader.  And as a teenager, he designed two car models and won awards in Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild national contest.

 After graduating, he headed for Western Michigan University, enrolling in industrial courses and finding his talent for drafting and drawing.  One project involved working on the design of a snowplow blade at Root Spring Scraper.  During the summers, he returned home and worked at Ansel Chemical and Scott Paper.

In 1955 he graduated from WMU with a major in industrial, a minor in economics. The next year he was inducted into the U.S. Navy for 18 months, based in Coronado, California, and working in Information Education.

After the Navy, he ended up at Scott Paper headquarters in Philadelphia.  He married Carol Oelke in 1962, and they raised their two children, first in Delaware, then Pennsylvania. During Norm’s forty-year career with Scott Paper, which merged with Kimberly Clark at the time he retired, he worked in several capacities.  In his first years at Scott, he worked on the design of Styrofoam cups. He managed the paper testing lab, involved with the tensile strength of paper products.  The design of napkins, Kleenex and toilet paper were part of his expertise. One of the first things he relayed to Marla shortly after they met was that the toilet paper should come off the front of the roll, so that the design was visible. 

The highlight of his career at Scott Paper was traveling to thirty-three countries inspecting paper machines and the paper-making process.  During this period, he made many long-term friendships with those he worked with all over the world.

Outside of work, he was chair of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Society of Quality Control. 

He retired to Harbor Springs in 1994 with Carol.  Their time in the new location was cut short when Carol died in 1995 from injuries in a car accident.  In 1998 he married Marla Kay Houghteling, who like him had moved to the tip-of-the-mitt from the Philadelphia area.  They purchased ten acres, and Norm achieved a dream of his: to design and act as general contractor for his own house. They named the property on north Welsheimer Road “Second Growth.”

After the house was built Norm designed and built, with help from friends and family, a writer’s hut for Marla.  He spent months fashioning the wood-designed interior down among the red pine forest.

During those years at Second Growth, Norm turned his artistic skills to watercolor and oil painting, taking courses and immersing himself in learning the techniques. Joining Kitchen Painters expanded his engagement with art and other artists.

He spent hours walking the trails of the conservancy easement bordering Second Growth with his dogs.  He found time to serve on the boards of Friendship Township and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Petoskey.

 Always an avid reader and seeker of knowledge, he participated in a book discussion group, and with Marla joined the Serene Jewel Sangha, for meditation and discussion.

His use of language, drawing on Navy vocabulary and Czech phrases learned from his father, will be part of his legacy to family members.  Another memorable habit of Norm’s was to ask for someone to be “a holder” during various carpentry or outdoor projects.  “Holding” often extended to long periods, sometimes in cold, wet conditions.

He is survived by his wife Marla, his son Nathan Mottl (Tammy), his daughter Melisandre Mottl (Denise McGiboney), his grandson Nicholas, nephews Bob, David and Brian Mottl, their partners, several grand nieces and a grand nephew, sister-in-law Mary Oelke. His extended family includes nieces and nephews from his first and second wives’ families. Also are his brothers-in-law and sister-in-law from his marriage to Marla.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Carol Oelke Mottl, his two brothers, Jim and Don Mottl, his sister-in-law Sharon Mottl.

A gathering of family and friends is planned for early summer.

Donations in his name can be made to the Dementia Society of America.