Quilts presented to LeRoy and Louise Sundquist

Quilt of Honor presented to LeRoy Sundquist

LeRoy Sundquist enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1961 at the age of 19. A graduate of Gonvick High School, he completed basic training in San Diego and then served for six months aboard the USS Prime MSO-466, a minesweeper. He later trained as a pipefitter and welder before taking his first leave back to Minnesota, where he met his future wife, Louise Hesby, on July 4, 1962. They continued their courtship by mail while LeRoy was assigned temporary duty aboard the USS Bayfield.

LeRoy’s next assignment was aboard the USS Point Defiance LSD-31, which traveled through the Panama Canal during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The ship was part of the naval blockade around Cuba and was reportedly within half an hour of anchoring for a full invasion when President John F. Kennedy officially ended the quarantine on November 20, 1962.

During another leave, LeRoy returned to Minnesota and married Louise in September 1963. He then traveled back to the USS Point Defiance for new orders near Subic Bay in the Philippines. He was stationed there when President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. After a stint in Seattle at the Todd Shipyard repairing ships, LeRoy served aboard the USS Point Defiance as it headed to Boston to unload a deep-sea diving bell used in the search for a nuclear submarine lost during sea trials. In 1965, LeRoy was honorably discharged with the rank of FSPE5.

Louise and LeRoy then moved to the Twin Cities for six years, where LeRoy worked various construction jobs before they returned to their farm near Berner and raised 5 children. LeRoy has been a member of the Gonvick American Legion for 57 years and has served as Commander of Minnesota Post 0304 for about 35 years.

Louise has been an active member of the Gonvick American Legion Auxiliary for more than 40 years and has served in most officer positions as well Director of the Auxiliary Honor Guard. On July 2, 2026, Douglas Faldet presented an honor quilt from the Gonvick Legion Auxiliary to LeRoy and Louise in recognition of their many years of dedicated service to the Gonvick American Legion and the community.

Submitted by Karen Oftelie, President of Gonvick American Legion Auxiliary