On a cold winter day, December 27, 2025 Doug boarded the last train and rode home to heaven, just 29 days after his 84 th birthday.He passed away at Lynwood Manor under the care of Elara Hospice surrounded by the love of family.Doug was born 29 November 1941 In Ann Arbor MI to Donald and Fay (Quackenbush) Fleshman and was raised along with 3 sisters. He attended Ann Arbor High School and graduated in 1959.
Doug’s greatest asset was his mind. In 7 th grade his teacher asked him what he did over the summer. Doug nonchalantly replied “I read Origin of the Species” by Darwin. The teacher thought this a tall tale. She quizzed him on it and found him to be telling the truth! His Savant nature appeared early on.
In high school over summer break he enjoyed being a golf caddy in Harbor Springs. He also loved Gymkhana motorsports and won several trophies. Doug was very fond of the model railroad and began collecting HO scale model railroad trains. He joined the Ann Arbor Model Railroad club where he and his best friend Duncan spent time together creating layouts.
In 1967 Doug was drafted into the Army. It was here they did an IQ test and found his IQ to be 160. He was in the Signal Corps where he used his brain instead of brawn. His job was Cryptographic Maintenance. After 7 months of training at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey he was stationed at USATCC in Karlsruhe Germany. From there he was stationed at Camp Darby, Coltano Community Center Italy for two and a half years.
In 1975 Doug moved to Petoskey where he opened Doug’s Photo and Hobby Store. He loved educating others on all aspects of photography and of the hobby items the store carried. At his home he enjoyed the perennial flowers he grew. He also enjoyed the area for the beautiful landscape and photography opportunities. There he met the love of his life, Jenny and they were together 2 years. He never married or had children. His favorite music was jazz and blues. He enjoyed singing in a choral group. In 1993 he moved to Tecumseh where he worked at Speedway and then Martin’s Hardware. He retired in 2008.
His Earth Angel was Theresa, his neighbor who took him under her wing and lovingly helped Doug. She stood by his side the last 12 years of his life.
In addition to both his parents, Doug was preceded in death by his oldest sister Rita (John) Ransom and their infant daughter Sharon and brother in laws Roy and Larry. He is survived by his sisters Cynthia Blaser of Tecumseh Mi and his sister Sally Harper of Temperance Mi, and several nieces and nephews.
One of the greatest joys of his life was his daily trip to Big Boy where he would leisurely sit for 2 or more hours, eat and take in the kindness of all the friendly folks there.
A big thank you to the Tecumseh Fire Department for the many times they kindly assisted Doug when emergencies arose.