Leroy Dwaine Clapshaw

LeRoy Dwaine Clapshaw was born February 25, 1944, in Detroit Lakes, MN. He was the sixth child (only son) of Lee Everett Clapshaw and Helen Lottie Harthun Clapshaw. The family moved to Great Falls, MT when he was five.

He grew up on the northwest side of Great Falls and attended Longfellow and Franklin Elementary schools, Paris Gibson Jr. High, and graduated in 1962 from Great Falls High. He met Dana Beryl Randall in high school, and they married in 1964. They had two children, Lorie Beth and Guy Mason.

LeRoy worked at Ayrshire Dairy for 20 years starting in high school. He worked briefly for Meadow Gold and Eddy’s Bakery, and eventually started his own business, Quality Exhaust. He and Dana owned both Quality Exhaust and a consignment shop called the Barn. He worked at Quality Exhaust for about 20 years, retiring at age 60 to take care of Dana. They had a long and wonderful marriage of 46 years but was cut short when Dana succumbed to diabetes at age 60.

He met Janet Vestre in 2009 and they were married in 2012. They’ve enjoyed almost 15 years of traveling, camping, and entering and attending car shows. They belonged to the Altered Classics Car Club and the Eagles Lodge.

LeRoy was preceded in death by his wife, Dana; parents, Lee and Helen Clapshaw; sisters, Lorraine Clapshaw (age 3), Margie Mertens, Betty Dalve, Joann Jones, and Sharon Sorlie; and five brothers-in-law. He is survived by his wife, Janet; children, Lorie Lacher (Tom Micuda) and Guy (Debbie) Clapshaw; sister, Lola Formentini of Fallon, NV; granddaughters, Alayna (Brady) Patch of Valleyford, WA, Haylee (Jared) Lee, and Morgan (Jared) Kimmet of Billings, MT; great-grandchildren, Vivian Patch, Neil Kimmet, and Nolan Lee. He is also survived by Janet’s daughter, Jamie (John) Nygard; grandson, Tyler Nygard; brothers-in-law, Jim (Annette) Terry, Reed (Linda) Randall; sisters-in-law, Jean (Daniel) Urs and Jean Randall; numerous nieces; nephews; and his furry best friend, Bugzy.

A celebration of life will be held at The Eagles Lodge on Saturday, February 10, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. Memorials may be sent to Altered Classics Car Club (P.O. Box 244, Black Eagle) or The Eagles Lodge.