By Deborah Larsen
Merne Earl LaFave
Merne Earl LaFave was born in Pontiac, Michigan, on February 19, 1921, the son of Edmond and Pearl Thornton LaFave. Merne attended Rochester High School and graduated in the class of 1941. While at RHS, Merne participated in Glee Club and served as the vice-president of his senior class. After high school, he was employed by the Michigan Bell Telephone Company.
In June 1943, Merne entered the U.S. Navy. He served as a fire controlman aboard the destroyer escort ship USS Osmus in the Pacific Theater. The Osmus operated in the Solomons and later in the war escorted vessels among the Marianas Islands and to Okinawa. The ship also conducted air-sea rescue missions and antisubmarine patrols in the Marianas.
Merne married Joan P. (Thompson) LaFave on December 1, 1940. He was released from military service in December 1945. After the war, he and Joan started a family, and Merne resumed his employment with Michigan Bell Telephone Company.
Merne Earl LaFave died at the age of 87 on May 30, 2008.
I am Merne’s son and I would like to submit a correction to this write-up. In the 3rd paragraph it implies that he was married AFTER he was discharged from the Navy. This is incorrect. He and my mother Joan P. (Thomson) LaFave were married on December 1, 1940.
Thank you in advance for making this correction.
Thank you, Michael. We’ll make the correction. We appreciate you letting us know.