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April 15, 1931-March 26, 2021
Roger Lafontaine, 89,
Grand Forks, formerly of
Minot, died Friday, March
26, 2021, in a Grand Forks
nursing home.
Roger was born April
15, 1931, in Berthold, ND
to Matthew and Florence
(Johnsen) Lafontaine. He
was raised and educated
in Berthold, graduating
with the Berthold High
School Class of 1950. Fol-
lowing high school, he
started a job with the
Great Northern Railroad,
until being drafted into
the U.S. Army. Roger
served his country honor-
ably from February 21,
1952 until November 20,
1953.
Roger was united in
marriage to Arlene Melt-
ing on February 15, 1952,
in Minot. They called the
community of Minot
home and were blessed
with two children, Geary
and Christine.
Roger's tenure with the
Great Northern Railroad
lasted a decade. He start-
ed his position at the
Minot Parking Authority
in 1960 and retired after
32 years of service in
1992.
They enjoyed wintering
in Casa Grande, Arizona,
for many years. Arlene
passed away on July 10,
2019. Roger moved to
Grand Forks to be nearer
his daughter in 2019 and
became a resident of Val-
ley Square.
Roger was a member of
Bethany Lutheran
Church, where he served
as an usher for many
years. Roger also main-
tained memberships to
the American Legion,
VFW and the Elk's Lodge,
all of Minot. In addition to
traveling with family, he
enjoyed the outdoors and
its offerings of fishing,
hunting and camping. He
will be missed deeply by
all who shared in his life.
Roger is survived by:
his daughter, Christine,
and her husband, Randy,
of Grand Forks; grandchil-dren Micah, Matthew, El-
izabeth and Sophia; 13
great-grandchildren; along
with numerous nieces and
nephews.
Roger was preceded in
death by: his parents; son,
Geary; sister, Murial
LeClair; brothers, John,
David and Melvin Lafon-
taine; and beloved wife,
Arlene (Melting).
Celebration of Life ser-
vice: 11:00 a.m. Tuesday,
April 6, 2021 at Bethany
Lutheran Church, Minot.
To view a livestream of
the service or share
memories and con-
dolences please access
Roger's obituary at
www.thomasfamilyfuneralhome.com.
Interment: Rosehill
Memorial Park, Minot, fol-
lowing the completion of
his anatomical gift to the
Medical School at the
University of North Dako-
ta.
Visitation will be held
on Monday, April 5, 2021
from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00
p.m. at the Thomas Fami-
ly Funeral Home, Minot.
Memorials are preferred
to Heroes.vfw.org in
memory of Roger Lafon-
taine.