H.
Rupert Sledge
H. Rupert
Sledge, age 88, passed away on
May 5, 2002
. Services will be held on
Wednesday, May 8, at
11:00 a.m.
at First Baptist Church of Arcadia.
Officiating ministers will in
cl
ude Mr. Sledge's pastor, Rev. Jeff
Hoffman; his daughter Rev. Sharlande
Sledge of
Waco
,
Texas
; his son-in-law Rev. Monty Watson
of
Marietta
,
Georgia
; and his brother-in-law, Rev.
Robert Geer of
Augusta
,
Georgia
.
Interment will be in
Arcadia
Cemetery
.
Visitation will be at Rose-Neath
Funeral Home in
Arcadia
from 5 until
7 p.m.
on Tuesday, May 7.
A life-long resident of Bienville
Parish, Rupert Sledge was born in
Castor on
June 21, 1913
, the son of Henry R. and May Evans
Sledge. A sister, Ethel Sledge, and
an infant brother, Benton, also
preceded him in death.
Mr. Sledge is survived by his wife
of 52 years, Margaret Geer Sledge, a
native of Augusta, Georgia; a
daughter, Sharlande Sledge of Waco,
Texas; a son, James Rupert Sledge,
his wife, Sandra McKean Sledge, and
their son Joshua of Ruston, LA; and
by a daughter, Kathy Sledge Watson,
her husband Monty Watson and their
sons, Andy and Adam of Marietta,
Georgia.
A retired Clerk of Court of
Bienville Parish, Mr. Sledge served
in the capacity of Clerk for 49
years prior to his retirement in
1988. For thirty-three years prior
to his retirement, he also served
both as the statewide
Secretary-Treasurer of the Louisiana
Clerks of Court Association and of
the Louisiana Clerks of Court
Retirement and Relief Fund.
Mr. Sledge was a member of
First
Baptist
Church
in
Arcadia
since 1924. He was ordained as a
deacon in 1950 and served his church
through deacon family ministries and
as church secretary for many years.
Mr. Sledge also served as a member
of the first Board of Trustees of
the Arcadia Baptist Retirement Home.
In 1999, he was honored by the
Bienville Baptist Association for 74
years of active service.
The valedictorian of his
Arcadia
High School
graduating
cl
ass of 1930, he graduated from
Louisiana
Tech
University
in 1935. Mr. Sledge was an active
member of the Arcadia Lions Club and
the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce. He
was a recipient of the 1987 Heritage
Award, an award honoring outstanding
citizens of the community. Mr.
Sledge was also involved with the
Bienville Parish unit of the
American Cancer Society and the
Arcadia Masonic Lodge and treasurer
of the
Bienville
Depot
Museum
.
As a husband, father and
grandfather, no one could have been
more encouraging, loving, and
generous. On the morning before his
death, Rupert attended worship at
his beloved church where the memory
of the ways he ministered to others
will live on as a faithful example
of God's love and care.
Rupert will be missed by countless
friends in
Louisiana
and around the world. He was a
living history book of
Arcadia
and Bienville Parish and his quick
mind, sharp wit, and gentle spirit
were as strong as ever until the
last minutes of his life.
Pallbearers will be deacons of the
First Baptist Church of Arcadia.
Honorary pallbearers will be Guye
Corley, Roger Culbertson, Robert
Lowe, J. M. Lamkin, Joe Brantley,
and Dan Hickman.
The family requests that memorials
be made to the missions ministry of
First Baptist Church,
Arcadia
.
From
the Ruston
Daily Leader, May 7, 2002
