Norman E. Hauenstein
Norman E. Hauenstein, 84, passed away on January 17, 2014 in the comfort of his own home in Houston, Missouri.
Norm was born to Morris and Matilde Holte Hauenstein in 1929 in Arlington WA. He graduated from Mt. Si High School in 1947 where he boxed and ran cross country. After High School, he briefly worked for Weyerhaeuser, logging in the mountains. In 1949, he joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego on a submarine search and rescue vessel. He later served as a Chief electrician on a submarine and as an electrical instructor while stationed in Great Lakes, IL.
Norm left the Navy in 1957 and returned to the Northwest where he started his career with General Electric as a service technician. He was promoted as Field Service specialist and traveled the State of Washington helping train appliance store Owners on how to service televisions and major appliances. In 1970, Norm was promoted to General Electric’s management training program and moved to Louisville, KY. In 1972, he became the St Louis regional service manager for GE consumer products division and later Kansas City and San Francisco. Those that worked for him, he was known for customer first doctrine and “hard work, hard play”. Acknowledging the team around him when the task was successful with plenty of unique positive reinforcement, but he was also known as “Stormin” Norman with the wagging finger when reports missed goals. In 1984 he was asked to leave a comfortable position in San Francisco to take on a very challenging position, the Los Angeles Region. Norm was again successful in turning the Los Angeles Region into improving their quality image and growing the business, while making a profit. Following his retirement from GE in 1987, his managerial tree lives on with his former direct reports and their direct reports, continuing Norm’s wisdom. Norm’s achievement he was most proud of, was his ability to mentor the younger managers that worked for him. Many of those managers went on to have outstanding careers with GE. He had tremendous knowledge of the service business and the ability to see future trends that would impact the business. He was a valued member of the service organization, working for a number of current GE mangers, including Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE. After retirement, he lived in Scottsdale, AZ, Gulf Breeze, FL, and Shelton, WA before moving to Houston, MO to live with his daughter.
He was preceded in death by daughter Diane, 19, brother Harold Hauenstein of Bremerton, WA, sisters Mildred Hauenstein, Snoqualmie, WA and Wilma Kahler of Arlington, WA, his wife, Maxine Pickett, and best friend Cris. He is survived by sister Violet Thomas of Issaquah, WA; daughter, Dr. Lynn Hauenstein of Houston MO; son, Mark Hauenstein of Reno Nevada; and four grandchildren: Grant and Timothy Henderson, and Morgan and Taylor Ann Hauenstein, along with numerous nieces and nephews. He leaves behind many prime gold dredging and salmon fishing spots in Canada and Alaska, as well as an empty locker in tennis clubs throughout the country.
A memorial service will he held in North Bend, WA in June. For those that want more information or would like to share, contact Mark at markh@technical-designs.com.
