A local business leader and philanthropist is being remembered as "bigger than life."
Michael Solcz Sr. passed away Saturday at the age of 93.
Former Windsor Regional Hospital CEO, David Musyj says we've lost such a great man, but at the same time heaven has gained such a precious gem.
Solcz was born in 1931 in Hunta, Ontario, to an immigrant family from Czechoslovakia.
The family moved to Windsor in 1942, and he attended W.D. Lowe Technical School to become a tool and die maker.
In 1959, he founded Valiant Corporation, which today is a global corporation.
Solcz also supported efforts to improve the welfare of the Windsor-Essex community through the Solcz Family Foundation with a focus on supporting projects and programs that provide opportunities for children, youth, and families.
Musyj says Solcz cared about everyone, especially children.
"Children that had no control over what life handed them and how he tried to overcome that with supporting various children’s activities and initiatives in order to help those children that got a bad hand in life," he says.
Musyj, who's currently supervisor at London Health Sciences Centre but still involved with the acute care hospital project, says that during gift announcement, he saw Solcz crying in the front row and stopped to give him a big hug, and Solcz told him he was proud of everything he was doing for healthcare, something that makes him choke up every time he thinks about it.
"At a moment where we're celebrating him and his family, the biggest donation, he's crying and telling me he's crying because of me, and whispering that in my ear speaks to the type of person he was and the legacy he's going to leave for our city," he says.
Solcz leaves behind his wife of 63 years, Doreen; four sons; and many nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Musyj says what Solcz has done will live on for generations because his family has adopted his values of helping the community.
"When you talk to all of his children, his grandchildren, they all sound like him; that's amazing," he says. "That was passed down through generations to the other people in his family to live his legacy, to move it forward."
Visitation will be Thursday, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. and 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at Windsor Chapel (Banwell Chapel) 11677 Tecumseh Rd. E.and Friday from 10-11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish with the funeral mass to follow at 11:30 a.m.
Solcz will be laid to rest at the Heavenly Rest Cemetery Mausoleum—Solcz Family Room.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in memory of Mike be made to the Micheal G. Solcz Community Benefit Fund, managed by the Windsor Essex Community Foundation.