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As received from the Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home:
Aaron James LeRoy, 44, passed away unexpectedly at his home on April 28, 2023. He was born on August 8, 1978, at Portage View Hospital in Hancock, Michigan.
At the age of 2, his family moved to Arizona and eventually to California. Aaron graduated from Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, CA and was an outstanding pitcher for the baseball team. At age 21, (The youngest cadet in his class), he graduated from the California Highway Patrol Academy and served as an officer for 24 years.
As a child Aaron had a passion for reptiles and spent hours in the desert hunting for lizards and rattlesnakes. On one camping trip, he and his sister had coffee cans full of tarantula spiders they had caught. He loved to fish and took every opportunity to go on Pacific Ocean charter fishing excursions. He and his wife were avid Packer Fans, but never had a chance to attend a game in Green Bay.
He treasured his vacations in the U.P. and would get his fill of smoked fish, pasty and cudighi. He packed his suitcase with Vollwerth’s to take home and he got a kick out of sharing blood sausage with his fellow officers.
Aaron had a contagious sense of humor and found great pleasure in making people laugh. He was a 6’3’ gentle giant with a heart of gold, touching many lives in ways we will never know.
He leaves behind his best friend and beloved wife of 15 years, Veronica, heart-broken mom Christine (Usitalo) Chapman, Calumet; dad James (Jess) LeRoy, Phoenix, AZ, devoted and devastated sister Jilaine, nephew Brighton, niece Remmi, Marquette, MI, maternal grandma, Carol Usitalo; Calumet, paternal grandma Ruthie LeRoy, Ishpeming, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family in California, and his three bulldogs Rocko, Tank and Brix.
A memorial service and celebration of life will take place on August 12, 2023, at the Siskiwit Reception Hall in Calumet, Michigan.
Dear Aaron,
May God be with you till we meet again.
Love, Mom
