LeRoy was born on January 10, 1928 in Herrick, SD to Merrill and Elizabeth (Determan) Foltz. He grew up in Herrick and attended school there through the ninth grade. People always asked him how he got his nickname PeeWee. Well, when he was in 8th grade, he got to play basketball on the high school team, he was the youngest and smallest player they had, therefore the nickname “PeeWee” and it stuck. After his freshman year his family moved to Winner where he graduated from Winner High School in 1945. While in high school, he enjoyed playing basketball, football, and baseball.
LeRoy “PeeWee” entered the military from 1946-1947 serving in Japan during the US occupation.
On November 7, 1949 he married Lois Jares in Gregory. They lived in Winner from 1949 to 1951, he worked for The Nesbitt Bottling Company. In 1951 they moved to Bonesteel to open the PeeWee’s TeePee Café. It was there that he started his lifetime career in the restaurant business. In 1958, a move to Colorado Springs for one year, they operated a gas station and A+W Root Beer Drive-In. They decided to move back to South Dakota, to Winner in 1959, and purchased the Holme’s Café. While in Winner, he was on the Winner City Council, Manager of the Winner Pheasant Baseball team, and a member of the Elks, VFW, and American Legion.
They moved to Denver, CO from 1965 to 1966, then to Casper, WY from 1966 to 1969. While in Casper he owned the Blue Ox Supper Club. During his time there, many different celebrities enjoyed the hospitality of the dinner club. They even hosted John Wayne’s 63rd birthday party.
In 1969 he began a new career in county club management in Albuquerque, NM, Belen NM, and El Paso TX for the Horizon Land Corp. Then on to the El Paso Country Club until he retired in 1997. During his many years in the country club business, he had the opportunity to play golf with professional golfers Tom Byrum, Curt Byrum, Tiger Woods, Lee Travino, and Notah Begay, just to name a few.
After he retired, he and Lois moved back to Winner to be closer to his many friends and family. He loved spending time and vacations with his children and grandchildren. PeeWee loved the many friends that he made over the years. He especially enjoyed telling all the stories of the baseball players, golfers and best buddies he had the privilege to spend time with over his lifetime.
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