Lawrence Oakley Roloff was born June 13, 1935, in Powers Lake, North Dakota, to William and Mary (Hanson) Roloff. He was raised in McGregor, attending school there and graduating in 1955. On October 21, 1955, he was united in marriage to Shirley Kihle in Columbus.

Following his marriage, they spent a brief period in Brady, Montana, after which they returned to North Dakota, residing in Williston. Lawrence drove truck for Sweetheart Bread until gaining employment as a police officer for the Williston Police Department. He worked there until 1959 when he accepted a position as Chief of Police for the Watford City Police Department. In 1962 the family moved to McGregor to farm and ranch the land that Lawrence spent most of his childhood on. In the winters, to supplement the farm income, Lawrence worked for Tioga Air Heaters and occasionally for a roustabout crew. He served many years on the Williams County Weed Board. He remained on the farm even after retiring from farming and ranching and in the fall of 2015, he moved to Bismarck. He was currently residing at Edgewood Vista on Dominion.

Lawrence is survived by a daughter, Sharlene (Ben) Weltikol, of Bismarck, ND; a son, Layne (Jonita) Roloff, of Bismarck, ND; grandchildren, Shane (Melissa) Weltikol, Shawn (Jessica) Weltikol, Tyler (Sharla) Roloff and Courtney (Kelvin) Clouse; eight great grandchildren; one brother, Herman Roloff and his wife, Betty, of Minot; two sisters, Adeline Kihle, of Wichita, Kansas, and Lucille Anderson of Williston, ND; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, William and Curtis; sisters, Mary Ann and Marcella; granddaughter, Allison K. Weltikol; nieces, Jane Nichols and Peggy Pawluk.