Joseph Aloysius LaFortune

Joseph Aloysius LaFortune Sr. was an American businessman inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1970. He was the founding patriarch of the Oklahoma LaFortune family and father of Robert LaFortune.

Early life, education, and World War I Joseph Aloysius LaFortune was born on June 3, 1894, in South Bend, Indiana. He was admitted to Notre Dame University in 1915 for an advertising program, worked for the university to cover his tuition, and left in 1916 without graduating. In 1916, he accepted an accounting position at the Standard Oil Company of Indiana. By 1917 he enlisted during World War I and served as a naval aviator and worked for the American Red Cross.

Move to Tulsa and later career In 1919, he moved to Tulsa to work for the Tulsa Daily World's advertisement department.

Personal life He married Gertrude Tremel on April 30, 1920. His son Robert LaFortune served as Mayor of Tulsa. He also had two daughters, Mary Ann and Jeanne, and a son, Robert "Buddy" LaFortune Jr.