William LaFave was born September 29, 1929, in
Kingsford, Michigan. He was raised and educated there, graduating from Kingsford High School in 1947. After high school, he enlisted in the
United States Navy. After leaving active duty, he remained in the
United States Navy Reserve for several years and went on to attend the
Badger Green Bay Business College in
Green Bay, Wisconsin. He was married in 1953 and briefly moved to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after the wedding, where he was employed as an accountant. He ultimately returned to Green Bay and changed careers in 1961, working for several years as a
Wisconsin State Patrol officer, before moving further north to
Marinette County, Wisconsin, where he worked for the local police department and later became a captain in the county traffic patrol department. In 1968, incumbent Marinette County state representative
Leslie R. Stevenson announced he would not run for re-election. LaFave faced two other Republican candidates in the
primary, including
Roy H. Sengstock, who had previously served five terms in the Assembly as a representative of Marinette County. LaFave managed to prevail with 43% of the vote, finishing 183 votes ahead of Sengstock, and easily won the November general election, receiving 64% of that vote. He went on to win re-election in 1970, facing opponents in both the primary and general elections. After the major
redistricting act in 1971, LaFave's district was divided in half, with his area of eastern Marinette County incorporated into what became the
88th Assembly district. LaFave announced in March 1972 that he would not run for re-election in the new district, and he left office in January 1973. After leaving office, he worked in real estate and taught police science at
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. In his later years he also became involved in several charitable and community service programs. He died October 20, 2016. ==Personal life and family==