Edwin Luther Slates

This morning the head of our family, Edwin Slates, peacefully went home to be with our Lord and Savior. He went to sleep and woke up with Jesus just as he had said he wanted to go. Though our hearts ache as we have lost an amazing man, we are also thankful he is at peace, whole again and reunited with all our loved ones who have gone before us. Those who had the pleasure of knowing him as Ed, Papa, Coach, Uncle Pooch, Deacon at church or even Dad of the hooligan Slates kids, know he was a saint. He was the one you could always count on being there for you no matter the circumstance. He was the pillar of our family, the church and the community and has touched many people’s lives with his kindness, understanding and ability to connect with and create a bond with anyone. He showed us all what it meant to be a man of God through his words and his actions, which is something to truly look up to. One of the things I admired most was the way he loved our precious granny, Shirley. Their love is one you find in storybooks. Through thick and thin they held strong together from the time they were teenagers until the moment he took his last breath. Please keep her in your prayers. Thank you, Lord, for the time you gave us with him. Papa, I’ll see you again soon…keep that elbow ready!

Mr. Slates is survived by his beloved wife of sixty-seven years, Shirley R. Slates; his children, Deborah Childers and her husband, Greg, David Slates, Laura Trammell, Jeff Slates and his wife, Karol, Paula Matthews, and Barbara Jennings and her husband, Ned; by his sister, Barbara Polen; by sixteen grandchildren, twenty-two great-grandchildren, and by one great-great grandchild. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin W. Slates and Laura M. (Mapel) Slates; daughter, Pam King (Danny King); brother, Jerry Slates; and by his sister, Norma Jean Prah.

Visitation for Edwin will be held on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, beginning at 10:00 a.m., at Victory Baptist Church in Weatherford. The funeral service will begin at 11:00 a.m., with Pastor Rob Catuto officiating. 

Burial with military honors will take place at 11:15 a.m., Thursday, September 14, 2023, at Dallas/Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Arrangements under the direction of Galbreaith Pickard Funeral Chapel.