He was the second oldest child of the five children. He moved with his family at age 7 in 1924 from Port Arthur to Giscome, British Columbia where his father was employed as a sawyer. The family eventually settling on a homestead on Ferguson Lake Road near Prince George, British Columbia. He left school after the tenth grade and helped his family through the depression years by working in logging and sawmill operations. In 1940 he joined the 24th Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces and participated in the Polar Bear Expedition testing winter survival equipment. He went to Bayfield from Canada for a suprise visit on 18 May 1945. ®162 In 1945 he and his brothers Ron and Ernie formed La Pointe Brothers Sawmills, Ltd, a logging, saw milling, and lumber sales business operating in the Salmon River, Pilot Mountain, Nukko Lake, Chief Lake and Sawmill Lake areas. He and Vera married in 1948 and their eight children were born between 1949 and 1964. In November, 1954 they moved to their new home at 426 Melville Avenue, where they resided at the time of his death in 1998. In 1969 the business was sold to Takla Forest Products, for whom Mel worked until his retirement in 1973. He and Vera visited Bayfield on 8 August 1975. ®162 They lived at 426 Melville Avenue, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada V2M1Y2 604-564-6148 in 1985. ®162 His main personal interests were fishing, hunting and cross country skiing. His main pursuit in retirement was his farm at Nukko Lake, where he died in the forest. He was baptized Catholic, but did not want a Catholic funeral, so the funeral was held at the Presbyterian Church that Vera and the children had attended for many years. He was buried with his parents in the Prince George Cemetery.