Robert J. LaFriniere

Robert “Bob” LaFriniere, age 77, of Mahnomen, MN, died Thursday, March 13, 2014, at his home under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley and kindhearted care from Maxine Olson. Robert Joseph LaFriniere was born December 30, 1936, in White Earth, MN, to Joseph and Mary (Chmelar) LaFriniere. He was the second oldest of six boys and five girls. Bob married Lucille Urving on April 11, 1959, in Naytahwaush, MN, and they became proud parents to Leila, Michelle, Todd, Brett and Greg. Lucille died in 1989 and was followed by their daughter, Leila, in 1991. Bob worked in the woods for most of his life, first with his father and then with his brother, Richard. For a short while, he worked for the DNR as a smoke-chaser. In the 60’s and early 70’s, Bob worked for Eickhof Construction, building bridges in the tri-state area. He put on many miles to and from job sites with his good friend, Steve Leslie. He left the construction company to be closer to home and his family. In the 80’s, Bob began logging with Steve Halberg and continued to work in the woods until his logging accident in the early 90’s. Bob greatly enjoyed hunting, fishing, trapping, ricing, making maple syrup, and mushroom picking from an early age. He taught these skills to his kids and his numerous nieces and nephews. In the summers, the entire family would set up camp on an island in Bass Lake and cook their fresh caught fish over the campfire. His love of fishing extended to fly-in trips to Canada, where he and his buddies were known to hire an extra plane just for beverages! Bob enjoyed playing cards, and many a deadly poker game was played around the kitchen table with family and friends, especially Bobby Paul. He was also a top-notch cribbage player; anyone stopping by would usually leave with a lighter wallet, including his nephew, Vinny Stevens. Bob loved to cook and bake, especially for his grandchildren. There was always fresh baked cookies, donuts, or bread but they wouldn’t last long. Every summer Bob put in a large garden and would spend countless hours weeding and tending to it. He would often experiment with different varieties of vegetables. Every fall he would can jars of veggies, fruit, jams and jellies, pickles and quart jars of grape juice from his grape vines. Bob recently put in horse radish and the first harvest will be this summer. Bob loved to watch sports, especially football and baseball. His boys remember him often watching a baseball game on TV with the sound turned off, and at the same time listening to a different ball game on the radio. In his younger days, he played on the local men’s softball leagues and would often travel up to Rice Lake for games. Bob loved to read, particularly westerns by Louis L’Amour. If he had no new book to read, he would re-read a book from his stack. Bob loved his yellow hunting labs and one favorite, Jiggs, would fetch on command and even knew the difference between an Old Milwaukee and a Miller Lite! In later years after his cancer set in, Bob stayed mostly to home and enjoyed feeding and watching the birds around his deck. Robert is survived by his children; Todd (Linda Knutson), Zerkel, MN, Brett, and Greg, both of Roy Lake, and Michelle LaFriniere- (Mike) Poole, Homer, AK; siblings: LeRoy “Bud” (Pam), Roy Lake, Jim (Gloria “Mouse”), Bagley, MN, Richard (Connie), Roy Lake, Kenny “Beans”, Roy Lake, Judy Roy, Carlton, MN, Amelia “Millie” (Herb) Roy, Roy Lake and Debbie (Cleve) Goodwin, Bagley; 11 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Robert is preceded by his wife, Lucille LaFriniere; daughter, Leila LaFriniere; great-granddaughter, Aiyana LaFriniere-Weaver; brother, Ronald LaFriniere; sisters, Marilyn Goodwin and Barbara Stevens Windecker; and sister-in-law, Bonnie LaFriniere. He will be greatly missed by his large circle of family and friends. Long live the memory of Bob LaFriniere. . Funeral Services will be held Saturday, March 22, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, Naytahwaush, MN. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the funeral. Interment will be held in the St. Anne’s Catholic Cemetery, Naytahwaush, MN.

Robert J. LaFriniere

December 30, 1936 - March 13, 2014