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LeRoy “Lee” Aftem

April 27, 1936-Nov. 12, 2020

LeRoy “Lee” Omar

Aftem, 84, of Minot, ND,

passed away on Thursday,

November 12, 2020, in his

home.

Lee was born on April

27, 1936, on the family

farm in Scandia Town-

ship, Bottineau County,

ND, the fourth or five

children to Gina (Bren-

den) and Oscar Melvin

Aftem. Lee attended a

small country school until

he began high school in

Souris, ND in 1950. Lee

graduated with a class of

nine in 1954.

He enlisted in the US

Navy after graduation and

started his naval service

in July 14, 1954. He spent

one year in Okinawa,

Japan and was assigned

the Beachmasters as a Ra-

dioman 3rd Class. Lee re-

turned to the Naval Base

San Diego and concluded

his naval service on June

11, 1958. He was proud to

serve as a sailor.

Lee enrolled in the

University of Colorado in

the fall. He had numerous

jobs as a salesman, bar-

tender and factory em-

ployee in Denver, Colora-

do while going to college.

He lived with his sister’s

family, Joanne and “Rip”

Dranselka, during most of

his college years.

Lee returned to North

Dakota and he married

Lorraine Pfeifer, of Orrin,

ND on December 2, 1967,

and started a family in

1971 with the birth of

daughter, Kendra Lee.

In 1963 he found em-

ployment as a Realty Off-

icer in Real Estate at the

Minot Air Force Base. He

loved the Real Estate of-

fice and his job, and had

the experience of training

many other Realty

Officers throughout

numerous SAC air bases.

He served in the Realty of-

fice until 1983, when he

transferred to Manager of

Base Housing. He enjoyed

the challenge of the Hous-

ing department and held

pride in naming the Saka-

kawea Inn. In 1985 he re-

ceived First Place as the

SAC Services Civilian

Manager. In 1986 Lee re-

tired with 23 years of

Civil Service.

They started their own

business and purchased a

few candy vending

machines in the fall of

1969. Over the years the

business grew into L & L

Vending and 1200

machines in MT, ND, and

SD. After vending for 31

years, the business was

sold in 2000. One special

employee, Dan Henes, be-

came a business partner

and life-long friend.

After full retirement in

2000, Lee became a

member of the Minot

Shrine Club. He loved the

circus and helping chil-

dren. One of his proudest

moments was being the

Circus President in 2004

and 2005. He continued to

support the circus and

other events until 2017,

when he stopped due to

health issues.

Lee also belonged to

several fraternal organiza

tions and served Christ

Lutheran Church. He

volunteered hauling pas-

tries and lefse to the

Norsk Hostfest for 26

years. He was active in

Disabled American

Veterans #4 until COVID

restricted meetings.

Lee enjoyed hunting,

camping, boating and

fishing. For 10 years he

camped at Four Bears

Campground in New

Town, ND; enjoying he

best walleye fishing, and

making friends. He also

enjoyed supporting his

grandchildren in their ac-

tivities. Lee had a passion

for car racing and attend-

ed the Nodak Speedway

starting in the 1970s. This

past summer he watched

many Late Model dirt

track races online with his

family.

Lee’s loving family in-

cludes: Wife, Lorraine,

Minot; Daughter, Kendra

(Mike) Clementich, Minot;

Grandchildren, Lexi

Clementich and Josh

Clementich; Brother,

Daniel (Gwen) Aftem; and

numerous nieces and

nephews also survive.

He was preceded in

death by parents; brother,

Merle (Christine) Aftem;

sisters, Gloria Kent, and

Joanne (Melvin) Dransel-

ka.

Celebrating the Life of

Lee:

Due to the Coronavirus

Pandemic, A Private

Family Funeral Service

by invitation will be held

Thursday, November 19,

2020, at 2:00 pm at Christ

Lutheran Church in

Minot, ND.

Those attending are re-

quired to wear masks and

social distance.

Interment: Rosehill

Memorial Park, Minot,

ND.

Visitation: Wednesday

from 4 to 6 p.m. at

Thompson-Larson Fun-

eral Home, Minot.

Memorials: In lieu of

flowers, memorials pre-

ferred to Shriners Hospi-

tal for Children and Christ

Lutheran Church.

The service will be

livestreamed for the pub-

lic to view and can be ac-

cessed by going to

www.bit.ly/LeeAftem

Funeral

Those wishing to sign

the online register and

share memories may ac-

cess the online obituaries

section at (www.

thompsonlarson.com).