James Warren Slack, Jr

James Warren Slack, Jr. of Lakeland, Florida, passed away on June 8, 2019, at Florida Presbyterian Homes at the age of 97. Son of the late James Warren Slack, Sr. and Emily Knecht Slack, Warren Jr. was born in Louisville, KY, on April 12, 1922. Loving husband of Dorothy Ash Slack, father of the late Claudia Ann Hilbert (Steve), James Warren Slack, III (the late Barbara Dove) of Lexington, MA, Dorothy Joan Eddins (Tony) of Jacksonville, FL, Alice Marie Slack Collins (David) of Lakeland, FL, and Robert Glenn Slack (Kathleen) of Pasadena, MD. In addition, he is survived by two sisters-in-law, Helen Emerson Slack of Palo Alto, CA, wife of his late brother Keith Vollmer Slack, and Marjorie Ash of Louisville, KY, wife of the late Thomas Marvin (Buddy) Ash who was the brother of Dorothy Ash Slack. After graduating from Louisville Manual Male High School in 1939, Warren attended the Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville. His education was interrupted in the waning days of WWII, when he was called up for military service and enlisted in the Navy. He trained as an Airborne Fighter Director but did not see service in the Pacific until after the end of the war, when he was stationed in China. While he was at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, he was re-introduced to Dorothy Marie Ash (also from Louisville) through a mutual friend. Warren and Dorothy married April 3, 1948. After marriage, Warren went to work for The Kentucky Color and Chemical Company, later bought by Harshaw Chemical Company. Declining a transfer to Cleveland, Ohio, Warren took a new job with Glidden Chemical in Baltimore and moved with his family to Severna Park, MD, in 1962. He was active in the Boy Scouts as a youth in Louisville and later as Scoutmaster of Troops in Louisville and Severna Park. In addition, he taught a Sunday School class at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severna Park, MD, and always commented in later years that, much to his surprise, two of the students went on to become ordained ministers. In his spare time, he enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, taking regular overnight cruises with Dorothy to the various locations, many to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. After all their children left home, Warren attended evening classes at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and earned a Master’s of Liberal Arts degree. After retirement, Warren and Dorothy bought a small motor home and made several trips, including one to Alaska with their University of Louisville college friends, John and Joan Bearden of Knoxville, TN. In retirement he also enjoyed photography and the carving and painting of realistic waterfowl. In 2005, at age 83, he returned to China after nearly 60 years to visit his grandson, Will Slack, who was studying in Beijing. Warren is survived by his wife of 71 years, four of his five children, five grandchildren, Robert William Slack of Cambridge, MA, Erin Collins Rittling (Phil) of Pittsburgh, PA, Heather Slack Mielke (Gary) of Westminster, MD, Lothian Buss of Troy, NY, and Jonathan Collins (Abby) of Orlando, FL. Also, five great-grandchildren, Samuel and Susannah Collins and Brooke, Mackenzie and Harper Mielke. A Memorial Service will be held at Florida Presbyterian Homes on Monday, June 17, 2019, at 10:00 AM in the Glenn Moore Chapel, 16 Lake Hunter Drive, Lakeland, FL 33803. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Loving Care Fund at Florida Presbyterian Homes.