This
is the eulogy that was given by Mr. Slagle's son, Tim
Slagle. He has shared it with us:
Gerald Slagle
Welcome All: This is a Special Day of Celebration. Our
Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather and
Friend lived 90 years and had an unbelievable impact on
all of our lives. He will be missed greatly by all of us
but we were so fortunate to have his presence in our
lives.
In
July of 1983 Dad had his first heart attack and Bi-pass
surgery. He had his second heart attack and surgery in
December of that year. He returned to work in February
of 1984 and retired in June of 1984. He had additional
heart issues in the ensuing years. At that time, I
figured he was living on borrowed time. Who would have
known that those early Bi Passes would have lasted for
36 years.
Born
in St Francis Kansas on Aug 25, 1928 and passed at the
age of 90 last Sunday, April 28.
He
was married to the love of his life for almost 70 years
and knew Dolores for 74 years.
He
was the proud father of 3 Children: Lynn and Dennis
Quist, Cyndi and Bob Olschowka and Tim and Kathy Slagle.
He
had 9 Grandchildren, 14 Great Grandchildren with more on
the way.
Dad
moved from Kansas with his Mom, Dad and two brothers in
1935. The Dust Bowl ran them out and they ended up in
Gridley because of family and the promise of a job. He
went to elementary school and high school in Gridley and
Chico State to get his teaching credential.
In
High school he was the Master Counselor of DeMolay and
eventually was a member of the North Butte Masonic
Lodge.
Gerald was an educator through and through. He taught
elementary school for 8 years and was the Principal of
McKinley School for 25 years.
He
had a huge impact on thousands of young students and to
his last days, met people who would say they went to
school at McKinley and Sycamore when Dad was a teacher
or the principal. His true love in teaching was science.
He was a huge proponent of Field Trips. His trips to
Gray Lodge to bird watch were his favorite.
He
also loved to take trips to see the Wild Flowers up on
Table Mountain. One week before his passing, he was
talking about how beautiful the flowers on Table
Mountain must be with the excessive rain this past
winter.
Another passion was insects. He had more Insect
collections that you can believe. His freezer to this
date has snakes and birds that he mounted over the past
70 years.
As
many of you McKinley alums remember the Glass case when
you walked into the front of the school. Every year he
would catch gopher snakes and anything else you could
catch and put them on display.
Dad
was also quite the Disciplinarian at school. Many
students still remember The Unlucky kids who had
“Issues taken care of in the hall while all the other 9
rooms listened”
Dad
had a couple of “Favorite” classes when he was a
teacher. Many of you are here today and you all know who
you are. Many of you were not only some of his favorite
students but ended up being Lifelong friends. Thank you
to all of you!
Dad
was always the most loving Husband and father. He would
always talk about the great Dove hunt he had on Sept 4,
1949 when he was almost late to his Wedding! Mom never
let him forget that day, but it did set the tone of
their marriage based on love and tolerance. Mom was such
a saint putting up with all the cleaning of animals/fish
on the kitchen table. We would filet 50 lb. Salmon and
cut and wrap deer all on her kitchen table. She never
got upset (That I saw and just smiled).
Camping was also a great pastime for both Mom and Dad.
We camped all over the northern state and one time went
to the World’s Fair in Seattle and camped all the way Up
and back in the rain. We even camped in Banff National
Park in Canada.
But
Dad’s passion after his family was Hunting and Fishing.
My earliest memories were pheasant hunting on the
Cassady Ranch. Great lifetime friends were made at those
hunts. Marvin Sr., MJ, Dick, Ralph, Joe and Mike Cassady
along with several other great friends such as Cal, Milt
and the Bequetts created memories that are still as
fresh in my mind now as the day they were made.
MJ
and Dad shot so much they had to figure out a way to buy
ammo cheaper. So in 1957 they opened C&S Sport Shop.
This little shop was 8’ Wide by 14’ Long. Small but all
they needed to buy Shot, Power, Primers, Wads and
everything else at Wholesale price so they could reload
all the ammo they needed for Pheasants, Ducks, Dove and
of course Coots.
As
time evolved, C&S became a bit larger and MJ sold
western boots along with all the reloading supplies. The
building still stands today.
Beside the upland hunting at the Cassady ranch, we would
hunt deer in the Sierras and eventually elk and antelope
in ID and UT.
After
I moved away, Dad began sharing his knowledge of hunting
and fishing with the grandchildren. He was in Seventh
Heaven taking his grandchildren out hunting Doves, Ducks
and fishing Salmon and Stripers. But his loyal and
favorite fishing partner was his daughter Cyndi. Our
walls and albums are full of pictures of Grandpa and the
Grandkids with smiles that are blinding.
As
time moved on and he and Mom embraced retirement, they
both loved to travel and camp with the Good Sams Club.
Of course, these trips were based on fishing trips for
the Men.
Dad
always had a little farmer in him. When we first moved
to the Gilstrap house from Vermont street, he planted 21
Walnut trees. I remember these so well. My sisters and I
would have to water the 3 rows of 7 trees almost every
weekend during the summer. After those got to large and
became such an issue to prune, spray, harvest etc., he
pulled them out and planted Kiwi’s.
The
Kiwi Patch became his “Total Getaway” during his Sr.
years. He absolutely lived in that Kiwi patch and took
care of them like they were his children. If Mom
couldn’t find him around the house she would look in the
Kiwis and he would always be there babying his plants.
Thank you to Roe, Jim and Gary for helping Farmer Ged
with his Kiwis over the many years.
In
our earlier days as a family, we attended this same
church on Sunday. When it was hunting or fishing season,
the attendance was usually a bit more sparse. As Dad and
Mom aged, Church became a much larger part of their
life. Dad was a very active member of the Presbyterian
Church. Both Mom and Dad were very involved in Bible
Study and Skippers of the “Outriggers” Couples Club in
their earlier years. He was also involved in Vacation
Bible School for many years.
Dad
had such a close connection with Pastor Barry Anderson.
The last couple of weeks when Dad was very ill, he would
be surrounded by family and friends. He would be fading
In and Out and then Barry would walk in. As soon as Dad
saw Berry, he would yell “Hallelujah”!!
He
and Barry connected like no one else. His visits lifted
Dad’s spirits for the next several hours. Thank You
Barry for bringing Joy and Spirit to our entire family.
Dad
Never lost his sense of humor. Over the years even all
his trips to the hospital didn’t dampen his humor. 12
years ago Dad had fallen off a ladder and found himself
hospitalized in Chico. When they were giving him an
assessment they asked several questions like what are
the days of the week, months of the year etc. When they
asked him “What are the Seasons”, Dads reply was:
Striper Season, Dove Season, Deer Season and Duck
Season!! Not to disappoint during his final days, Dad
had a Physical Therapist who was asking him questions
that he didn’t feel he needed to answer. At one point,
he asked her if “She was a Socialists”!!. Another day a
Nurse attending to Dad saw him rubbing his eye. She
asked him if he had something in his Eye and he replied:
Yes, my Eye Ball!!
I
want to say a Special Thank You to my Sisters Lynn and
Cyndi for all the help and care they have given both Dad
and Mom over the years. Lynn has always been the “Rock”
of the family and continues to this day to always be
there to do things and never expect anything in return.
So
when you think about Dad, Always Smile because that is
what he would like and that is what he is doing now.
Thank
you everyone for attending today; We are going to Miss
Dad
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