LeRoy Nayes

LeRoy Nayes, 91, Bismarck, died March 23, 2014, at a Bismarck hospital. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 10:30 AM at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bismarck with Rev. Steve Sathre and Rev. Paul Schick officiating. Burial will be at the ND Veterans Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday from 5:00 – 8:00 PM at Eastgate Funeral Service and will continue on Wednesday one hour prior to the service at the church. LeRoy Milton Nayes was born on March 2, 1923, in Fingal, ND, to Lawrence Melvin and Mary Deede Nayes. He attended rural schools and graduated from Fingal High School in 1941. Vocational agriculture was taught at Fingal where Future Farmers of America was the main organization. LeRoy was president for two years and attained a state farmer degree for that and home farm projects. A Sears Scholarship and part-time job at a college café made it possible to continue studying agriculture at ND State University in Fargo. He was also president of the FFA on the college level. In December on 1942, LeRoy enlisted in the Air Corps to join many others fighting in World War II. In June of 1944, an officer's commission and Navigator-Bombardier Wings were earned at Deming, NM, and he was off to Italy to fly in B-24s with the 15th Air Force. On the mission to Linz, Austria, on December 14, 1944, anti-aircraft shells crippled his plane and the crew had to parachute into enemy territory. After being missing in action for 35 days in northern Yugoslavia, a rescue plane picked up four of the crew survivors and returned them to Italy for recuperation in a hospital. Flying missions continued until VE day when medical and food supplies were dropped at a prison camp in Germany rather than bombs dropped on enemy targets. LeRoy was honorably discharged on December 12, 1945. LeRoy returned to NDSU and graduated in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture education. He received a Masters of Agriculture degree from University of Minnesota in 1947. He taught school at Jamestown and Casselton, ND. LeRoy married Lillian Alvera Nydahl on June 19, 1949. They moved to a farm near McClusky in central North Dakota until 1954 when they moved to a farm near Fingal. In 1956, LeRoy was recruited to work for the Farmers Home Administration of USDA. Thus began a 27-year career administering loans to farmers in Dickinson, Bowman, Cooperstown, Bismarck, and Washington, D.C. He was head of the farm loan division for ten years after returning to Bismarck from Washington, D.C. until his retirement in August of 1983. He received an Outstanding Service Award from FHA of USDA for his many years of dedication. Lillian died on November 23, 1996. LeRoy married Ella Lillian Nordby on June 13, 1997, in Bismarck. LeRoy was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Bismarck. He served on the Board of Parish Education, was a Sunday school teacher and superintendent, Deacon, trombone player in the Brassmen, chairman of the Senior Men, and a member of Men of Trinity. He was an officer of Sons of Norway, and a member of the Elks, VFW, and American Legion where he also was in the Drum and Bugle Corp. He was a member of Organization of Professional Employees Department of Agriculture OPEDA and was an officer and continuous member of National Association of Retired Federal Employees NARF. He was competitive and believed that success was the result of doing one's best. He enjoyed playing the trombone, reading, traveling, cross-country skiing, and sports, especially golf, bowling, and tennis. LeRoy was dearly loved and will be deeply missed by his wife, Ella of Bismarck; two sons, Lawrence Carol Nayes of Miles City, MT, and Lee Lynn Nayes of Fort Wayne, IN; one daughter, Linda Paul Brown of Bloomington, IN; four granddaughters, Lisa, Tracy, Laura, and Amanda Nayes; two grandsons, Andrew and Jordan Brown; one brother, James Joan Nayes of Jamestown, ND; one sister, Dorothy Wilkins of Modesto, CA; and many good friends. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Lillian; his parents; and two sisters, Virginia Maasjo and Loretta Baird.

LeRoy Nayes

March 2, 1923 - March 23, 2014