Robert Francis Mogie LaFave, age 76, of 202 E. Onota Street, Munising, died at the Tendercare Health Center in Munising at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, January 19, 2007. He was born to William and Elizabeth (nee Hebert) LaFave in Munising on June 3, 1930. Mogie graduated from Sacred Heart School and Wm. G. Mather High School in 1948. During high school and WWII, Mogie worked at the A & P and Red Owl. In October of 1948, he joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Wichita, Kansas and Boise, Idaho. In June of 1950, Mogie returned home to Munising and went back to work at the Red Owl. On May 31, 1952, Mogie married Norma Marie Icke. He was hired at the Munising Paper Company and worked in the paper manufacturing department for five years before transferring to service operations. Mogie worked in shipping and receiving over twenty-five years. He retired from Kimberly Clark in 1984 with thirty-one years of service. Mogie was a member of Sacred Heart Church and of the Knights of Columbus. He was an avid sports fan and backed the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Tigers. In his younger years, Mogie enjoyed bowling. Being a lifetime Munising resident, Mogie loved Munising history. He enjoyed walking around the town and taking rides around Munising.
He is survived by his wife of over fifty-four years Norma LaFave of Munising; daughter and son-in-law Georgie Ann and Fred Baij of Marquette; son Kevin LaFave of Munising; grandchildren Allison (Eric) Haugen, Nathan (Jaime Sleeman) Baij, Anna Baij, Jennifer LaFave, and Robbie LaFave; great-grandchildren Elise and Blake Haugen and Halle Baij; brothers Ernest LaFave of Marquette and Lawrence Stowe (Maxine) LaFave of Munising; sisters Ruth Carr of Munising and Jean Paananen of Munising; and numerous nieces and nephews. Mogie was preceded in death by his parents and siblings Jack LaFave, Drilda Tussing, Exilda Theaker, Dorothy Swajanen, and infant twins Gerald and Geraldine.
Visitation will be held on Monday, January 22, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the Bowerman Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Chris Gardiner on Monday at Sacred Heart Church in Munising at 2:00 p.m. Interment will be at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Munising in the spring. At that time, the Alger County Veterans Council and American Legion Honor Guard will conduct military honors. In lieu of flowers, memorials in memory of Mogie may be directed to the Sacred Heart Spring Flower Fund.
