Fred Augustus Sloan, Jr.'s Obituary
After a life of faithful service to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Reverend Fred Augustus Sloan, Jr., 83 years old, was called home to be with his Savior on Saturday evening of August 6, 2022. He was a devoted servant of God without striving, exercising his spiritual gift of service in the Gainesville and North Central Florida community for 55 years. As an associate minister at North Central Baptist Church for 29 of those years, he led the educational resources and classes of the church for all ages and ministered to countless senior adults, caring for their physical and spiritual needs. All who had the honor and privilege to meet him never left the same, and those who knew him remember him for his loving servant’s heart, distinctive laugh, sense of humor, and a positive can-do spirit. He never let an opportunity to serve and minister to someone in need pass him by, and he made friends with everyone he met. His family always joked he could get on an elevator with a bunch of strangers and leave the elevator a few floors later with new best friends.
Brother Fred was born on October 15, 1938, in McLeansboro, Illinois, to Fred Augustus Sloan, Sr. and Bonnie Opal Bowers, joining two much older siblings, June Alice and Alexander Moses, who were 12 and 9 years old respectively when “Freddie” was born. At the young age of four and a half years old, Fred lost his father in a tragic plane crash on Mother’s Day, May 9, 1943. The absence of a father during his young, formative years made the loving embrace of his Heavenly Father all the sweeter and more cherished later in life. In 1948, Fred’s mother remarried, and he gained a loving stepfather, Burris Mansell, a grown, married stepsister, Sue James, and a stepbrother, John, who was three months younger than Fred. Fred and John became very close and remained close all their lives. The newly blended family moved to a farm outside McLeansboro. While living there, Fred accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at the age of eleven years old and was baptized on August 21, 1949. In 1956, his stepfather died unexpectedly of a heart attack, and once again, Fred found himself without an earthly father, but his Heavenly Father kept Fred under his wing and directed and guided him at every step.
Fred graduated from McLeansboro High School in 1956 and later from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 1960, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Physics. Upon college graduation, Fred was commissioned into the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant through the Reserve Officer Training Corp. He prepared for his active-duty assignment by attending the Air Force’s Meteorology school at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Upon graduation from Texas A&M in 1961, he served as a Weather Officer in Stuttgart, Germany, and Sembach Air Base’s 31st Weather Squadron, near Kaiserslautern, Germany. It was in Germany where Fred became active in a local American church and felt called into full-time Christian ministry. Upon being honorably discharged from active duty in 1964, Fred entered the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he met his future wife, Linda Darnell White of Headland, Alabama. They dated for one year and married on August 7, 1965. Linda became a certified teacher and taught third grade for two years until Fred could graduate in 1967. They would later raise three children, Mark, Alicia, and Deanna, whom they deeply loved and cherished. Fred and Linda together poured themselves into their children and modeled the very definition of love and service, and all three children are forever in a debt of gratitude.
After graduating with a Master of Divinity degree (MDiv), Fred accepted the position of Minister of Education at North Central Baptist Church in Gainesville, Florida in 1967, later becoming the Minister to Senior Adults. He developed several educational programs at the church that ministered to thousands of people across the years, overseeing the Sunday School departments for all ages as well as special programs like the annual Vacation Bible School. He utilized his special technical talents to develop the church’s unique television ministry, whose broadcasts on WCJB TV20 reached thousands of homes across the North Central Florida area every week. He was instrumental in producing the church’s annual Living Nativity every Christmas for which the church became well known in the 1970s and 80s. He also had a special calling for ministering to senior adults in the Gainesville community. He organized many functions and trips for elderly members and ministered to the homebound, often involving his children when they were young, whom he would bring along with him as he modeled Christ’s love to the needy and hurting. Fred’s special technical talents allowed him to also serve others through his unique ability to repair broken electrical items, such as TV sets and appliances, which saved church members money, time, and stress. His love of service made it hard to turn down any request for help. For 29 years, Fred provided a unique long-term stability for the church, not commonly seen in the ministry profession, retiring from public ministry in 1996 after touching countless lives through his faithful, tireless service. Not satisfied with being retired, Fred accepted a job offer from a friend who owned Florida Phone Systems, and he was able to minister to the North Central Florida business community, again utilizing his special technical talents to serve business owners and employees throughout the area. During his time with Florida Phone, he even taught middle school Physics for one school year at Living Faith Fellowship’s Christian school, putting his college degree to good use.
Fred spent his last years living quietly at home with his beloved wife, Linda, enjoying the fruit of influencing so many lives for Christ across North Central Florida. His areas of interest throughout his life included watching Gator football and classic movies, tinkering with electronics and computers, watching classic movies, studying American history, traveling around Europe (in his younger years), and anything having to do with trains. He also had a marvelous sense of humor and usually kept his family and friends chuckling. His infectious smile could brighten any room. He was also a very resourceful problem solver and a Jack-of-all-trades, who could fix anything. His family cannot remember a single thing, he could not fix. His wife always joked they could never have anything new.
After 83 years of a life well lived and well loved, Fred finished the race, having fought the good fight. He was finally called home to the embrace of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, at 9:13 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, 2022, one day before his 57th wedding anniversary. He was surrounded by his loving family, who sang hymns and read scripture to him till the very end. Even at the point of death, he was attending church. The peace-filled atmosphere was full of love, hope, and the joyous promise of a new life.
Fred is preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Bonnie Sloan, his sister, June Alice Sloan Hubbard, his brother, Alexander Moses Sloan, his stepsister, Sue Mansell James, and his stepbrother, John Mansell. He is also preceded in death by an unborn child and an unborn grandchild, who were each lost through miscarriage. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 57 years, Linda, as well as their three children, who love and treasure their dad greatly: Retired USAF Colonel Mark Allan Sloan (Linda Olexa) of Roswell, Georgia; Mrs. Alicia Carol Sloan Chin (Rick) of Gainesville, Florida; and Mrs. Deanna Lynn Sloan Hatfield (John) of DeLand, Florida. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Victoria Chin, Joshua Hatfield, Jonathan Hatfield, Katelynn Hatfield, Savannah Hatfield, Jason Hatfield, and Emma Hatfield, plus several nieces, nephews, cousins, two sisters-in-law, and a brother-in-law, who also love him dearly.
Although his family is saddened by his absence, they rejoice that he is in the presence of his loving Savior, who set him apart and called him by name before he was born as a witness for Christ to a lost and dying world. They also rejoice that this separation is only temporary, for death has been defeated through the power of the Cross and the Blood of the Lamb, and they will see their beloved husband, father, and grandfather again. Until that joyous day comes, his family will miss him tremendously, though their hearts are flooded with God’s grace, mercy, strength, and love, as well as His peace that surpasses understanding every time they think of their precious Fred.
Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, August 12, 2022. Afterward, visitation with the family will be at 10:00 a.m. at North Central Baptist Church, followed by a Celebration of Life service at 11:00 a.m. with Dr. Calvin J. Carr officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sira, our local crisis pregnancy center, located at 912 NW 13th Street, Gainesville, FL 32601. Fred’s children and grandchildren were his most precious treasures, and he believed strongly in advocating for the lives of the unborn. Please visit this website for different ways to donate: https://siragainesville.com/donation-options/. Thank you!
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