Douglas George Sarata

Douglas George Sarata of Parma, MI has joined his Lord and savior on January 3, 2018 after a brief but valiant battle with cancer. He died at home, surrounded by family and love. Dougie was born July 10, 1959 in Jackson to the late George and Dorothy Sarata and grew up in Pleasant Lake. Doug is preceded in Death by his parents, father-in-law Elihu Swartz, his sister, Margie Pettie, and brothers, Jim and John Sarata.

Doug attended Northwest High School in Jackson, MI and joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) electrical apprenticeship shortly thereafter. He has been married to his loving wife, Sheri (Swartz), since 2002. He had three children from his previous marriage to Kim Belt (Veldheer): Jeff (Andrea), Joy (Eric) Paul, and Scott (Lindsay Gaarde). His Marriage to Sheri created his own Brady-Bunch family with the addition of her 3 children: Jacob (Melissa) Jones, Sadie (Jesse) Fritz, and Emily (Dustin) Kingsbury. He is survived by his wife, all 6 children and their spouses, 7 grandchildren, sisters Carol (Roger) LaMarre, Jackie (Dennis) Angel, Mary (Kurt) Nichols, brother Jerry, mother-in-law Mary Swartz, in-laws Mike (Tammy) Swartz, Shannon Lynn, Kelly (Sean) Mulvihill, Kimberly Swartz, Erin Stevens, Karen (Chip) Johnstone, many nieces and nephews, and 750,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

His children will always hold dear the building and electrical projects he helped them with and hearing him on the sidelines cheering or coaching at soccer games. They all came running to the sound of his characteristic whistle. His grandchildren will always remember pushes on the tire-swing and making papa's pies with berries picked from the backyard. He loved having his home full of children playing and said there was no other sound he would rather hear. Doug was on the apprenticeship training committee for the IBEW, molding budding electricians to become masters in their field. When the ground and the economy in Michigan were frozen he spent time as a traveling electrician, or tramp as he would call it, spreading his cheer and humor across the country and keeping his vow to provide for his family. Doug was eager to share his passion for the union, their unparalleled standards for quality, and the importance of "American Made." The IBEW in turn provided overwhelming support to Doug and Sheri through his illness, the Sarata family can't thank them enough.

Some would say that Doug's favorite hobby was working, always eager to start a new project, especially if it was with his wife or son. He loved fishing, being on the water, and spending time with his family. He also volunteered at church and was well known to initiate pot-lucks at the job site because he loved the fellowship. Determined to live every moment to it's fullest, he immediately started planning trips to see family and fulfill lifelong dreams. In his last few months he took trips to Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, and South Carolina to see children and grandchildren.

The Sarata Family would like to express their heartfelt thanks and unending gratitude to Heartland Hospice.

God, grand me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

Services will be held at the JaxNaz (Jackson First Church of the Nazarene), 3905 Clinton Road, on Monday, January 8, 2018 at 3:00 PM. Private interment at St. John's Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at the Desnoyer Funeral Home on Sunday, January 7 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM and 6:00 to 8:00 PM and at the church on Monday from 2:00 to 3:00 PM.

Instead of sending flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to IBEW Sick and Needy Fund would be appreciated.

Desnoyer Funeral Home
Family owned for 128 years