Frank Fonte, Jr., 79, formerly of Kenosha, late of Las Vegas, NV, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 21, 2012, at Spring Valley Hospital in Las Vegas with his loving wife by his side. Born in Kenosha on February 9, 1933, he was the son of the late Frank and Elizabeth (Pugliese) Fonte, Sr. On March 25, 1953, Frank enlisted in the United States Army Signal Corps; where he served in the Company A 299th Engineer Battalion. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal/Army of Occupation Medal (Germany). Frank received his training at Ft. Gordon, Georgia and was stationed in Germany. He was honorably discharged on March 16, 1955. He grew up emulating his father, Frank Sr. in the family owned grocery/meat market, Fonte Foods which still stands at the corner of 14th Avenue and 50th Street. After he returned from the Army, he decided to go to Tool and Die Maker’s School, but then realized his love was in the store with his father. He went to Meat Cutter’s School and upon finishing that, took over the store. He loved the store and worked 7 days a week. He was determined to make a success of the little “mom and pop” grocery store by running weekly specials of warm ham, homemade sausage, ravioli, sauce and pizzas. He was successful in his venture of providing meat to various restaurants in the area. He ran the store until he sold it in 1988. On November 2, 1974, he married Joan Moeller at St. Casimir Catholic Church. He and Joan moved to Las Vegas, NV, where he went to Dealer’s School and became a blackjack dealer at the Las Vegas Club, retiring in 1997. Shortly after they moved to Las Vegas, they had an unexpected visitor in their garage; a little Desert Tortoise, who was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. She was appropriately named “Pokey” and has grown from the size of the palm of your hand to the size of a large dinner plate. “Pokey” has lived with Frank and Joan for about 20 years and survives him. Frank is survived by his wife, Joan Moeller of Las Vegas; two sisters, Betty (Clyde) Johnson of Kenosha and Victoria Palmer of Phillips, WI; a brother, Tom Fonte of Redondo Beach, CA; special cousins, Tom and Lucy Fonte of Kenosha; and sisters-in-law, Judy (John) Musser and Diane (Spencer) Montgomery, both of Kenosha. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Elizabeth Fonte; three brothers, Leonard, Antonio and Patrick, and a sister, Silvia Fonte. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, December 3rd, at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow Sunset Ridge Memorial Park. Visitation will be held on Monday at the church from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the Mass.Proko Funeral Home & Crematory5111-60th StreetKenosha, WI 53144Phone: (262) 654-3533Visit Frank’s Online Memorial Book at:www.prokofuneralhome.com