Michael Douglas “Mike” Bolick

Obituary

Michael Douglas “Mike” Bolick, age 79, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 22, 2026, at 4:44 p.m. CDT in Tulsa surrounded by the love of his family.

Mike was born on December 23, 1946, in Ponca City, Oklahoma. He was raised in the small town of Tonkawa, Oklahoma with the values of faith, hard work, integrity, and perseverance that would come to define every aspect of his life. A graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Mike combined extraordinary intelligence with an unmatched work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit. A proud Oklahoma State Cowboy throughout his life, Mike remained deeply connected to his alma mater, maintaining season football tickets for many years and enthusiastically cheering on the Cowboys every fall.

Throughout his life, Mike devoted himself to building things that would endure. He built a successful business, cultivated lifelong friendships, and, together with Kathie, built a family that remained the center of his life.

In 1974, after working as a sales engineer for the TRANE corporation, Mike founded Specific Systems HVAC in his garage in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Through his vision, determination, and relentless commitment to excellence, the company grew into the premier manufacturer of hazardous-duty HVAC equipment serving customers around the world. Mike led the company for more than forty years before selling the business in 2016. Even afterward, he remained active through Bolick Enterprises, continuing to manage his business interests alongside his longtime assistant and trusted friend Debbie Smith.

While Mike was respected for his professional accomplishments, those who knew him best admired him most for the way he treated people. He genuinely cared for his employees, customers, friends, and family. He had a rare combination of exceptional intelligence, charisma, humor, and kindness that made others feel welcome and valued. Whether speaking with longtime friends, business associates, or someone he had just met, Mike had an ability to connect with people in a meaningful and sincere way.

Mike was also known for his incredible energy and drive. He arrived at work before everyone else and stayed long after others had gone home. He believed that success came through discipline, persistence, and the willingness to do what others would not. Yet despite his demanding work ethic, he found joy in life's simple pleasures: sunshine, beaches, snow skiing, water skiing, floating peacefully in a swimming pool, and especially spending time with his grandchildren. Those who knew him well fondly remember trying to keep up with his famously fast walking pace, and his family will always remember laughing at the “unique” sunburns he would get after long days in the sun with his grandchildren.

Faith played an important role throughout Mike's life. He grew up attending the Christian Church in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, and later worshiped for many years at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Tulsa alongside his beloved wife Kathie before becoming members of Asbury United Methodist Church. Mike lived his faith quietly but powerfully. He did not preach through words as much as through the example of his life — through his kindness, integrity, generosity, humility, and love for others. Those who knew him saw his values demonstrated daily through his actions.

Mike was deeply devoted to his family. During his years at Oklahoma State University, he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, where he formed friendships that lasted a lifetime, including Jim McKeller of Tulsa and Larry Hickock of Wichita. Those friendships remained an important part of his life for decades and would ultimately play a role in one of the most important chapters of his life.

While working in Wichita, Kansas during a summer break from college, Mike stayed at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house at Wichita State University. One evening, his fraternity brother Larry Hickock asked if Mike would pick up his date before they attended a social event together. When Mike arrived at the home, he noticed a photograph of the date's younger sister, Kathleen Ann “Kathie” Judd. Struck by her beauty, Mike asked Larry about her later that evening. Introductions were soon made, and Mike and Kathie began dating.

After only a few short weeks together, Mike knew he could not imagine life without Kathie. With the summer coming to an end and his return to Oklahoma State University approaching, he became certain that he did not want to spend his life without her. He asked for her parents' blessing, proposed, and Kathie accepted. They were married on September 14, 1968, just a few months after meeting, and remained happily married for more than 57 years. Kathie was the love of his life and his steadfast companion through every season of life.

He is survived by his loving wife, Kathleen Ann “Kathie” Bolick; daughter Michelle Renee Bolden and husband Steve Bolden; son Michael Douglas Bolick II and wife Keesha Bolick; grandchildren MacKenzie Michelle Bolick, Zachary Ray Bolden, Mallory Madison Bolick, Sophia Renee Bolden, and Michael Douglas Bolick III; and brother Mark Bolick and wife Vicki Bolick.

Mike will be remembered as a brilliant businessman, a devoted husband and father, a proud grandfather, and above all, a genuinely good man whose life reflected the values he believed in. His legacy lives on not only through his accomplishments, but through the example he set for everyone fortunate enough to know him.

A viewing and visitation will be held on Friday, June 5, 2026, at Ninde Funeral Home, 3841 South Peoria Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at Asbury Church, Mason Chapel, 6767 South Mingo Road, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In lieu of flowers, tribute/memorial donations may be made in memory of Mike Bolick to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America at alzfdn.org or (866) 232-8484.