Obituary of LeRoy DeFoe

LeRoy DeFoe "Obsibbiniss", 72 of Cloquet passed away on Sunday, December 20, 2020 in Miller Dwan Medical Center in Duluth. He was born December 19, 1948 in Cloquet to Rupert and Elizabeth "Betty Ella" (Benton) DeFoe. LeRoy worked for Fond du Lac Reservation. He first worked as a welder and also maintained the pools at Black Bear Resort and the RBC. In the early 1990's he began organizing the cemeteries on the Fond du Lac Reservation. He was put to task to draw maps for seven cemeteries and to locate the graves and identify who was buried in each grave. Prior to his retirement, he worked in the land department on the reservation. In 1981 LeRoy created the Fond du Lac Logo. LeRoy was also the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer at Fond du Lac Reservation. LeRoy was preceded in death by his brothers, Robert LaFave Sr., Lavern and Steven DeFoe; sister, Tracy DeFoe; and his second wife, Michelle Liupakka. He is survived by his wife, Deborah DeFoe of Cloquet; his children, Zebence Joni (Todd Dishion) DeFoe of Seattle, Billie (Frederick) DeFoe-Robinson of Eau Claire, Wisc., Roberta Dawe and Alberta Dawe both of Kansas City, Missouri, Jessica (Jason Puent) Sterling, Dan DeFoe, Tony DeFoe all of Duluth, and Skye Nelson of Minneapolis; step-son, Thomas Dawe of Kansas City; brother, Dean "Tom" DeFoe of Duluth; sister, Margo Casey of Janesville, Wisc.; 12 grandchildren, Ricardo, Jasmin, Eduardo, Hector, Chayanne, Keira, Deja, D.J., Harrison, Sora, Jackson, and Adonis; and seven great grandchildren. Graveside Services will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, December 28th at Old Holy Family Cemetery.