June 26, 1943 – July 23, 2022
Dale Hamilton Slusher, 79, of Salem, VA passed away on July 23, 2022. He was predeceased by his grandparents, Rev. Madison H. and Ida A. Duncan Slusher, and George L. and Maggie Sisson Poff; parents, Madison H. Jr. and Lillian Poff Slusher; and his brother, Larry Ross Slusher. Dale is survived by Lucette McCoy (mother of his children); his children, Valerie Slusher (Steve) Skripak of Blacksburg, VA, Sonia A. Gerald of Salem, VA, Dale H. (Janet) Slusher, Jr. of Buena Vista, VA, and Stephanie Slusher (Jeff) Farnsworth of Charlotte, NC; grandchildren, Carly S. Skripak of Salem, VA, Megan A. (Anthony) Bradshaw of Salem, VA, Benjamin M. Slusher of Buena Vista, VA, Dana A. Skripak of Blacksburg, VA, and Reese L. Farnsworth of Charlotte, NC; as well as his Goddaughter, Nathalie Guengant (Herve) Thomas of St. Nazaire, France.
Dale was baptized at Bethel Baptist Church on December 6, 1953. He attended Old Salem Elementary School and graduated in 1961 from Andrew Lewis High School. He served in the US Army Signal Corp from 1961-1964 and was stationed in France during his service. Dale worked at General Electric from 1964 until his retirement in 1997. He was a life-time member of AFL-CIO and IUE Union. He also worked part-time at Virginia Plastic Company in Roanoke, VA from 1965-1982. Dale volunteered as a Hot-Line Counselor and Walk-In Counselor at TRUST from 1985-1988. Dale was a licensed private pilot taking his first solo flight on April 21, 1989 and received his pilot license on December 7, 1989. He was a volunteer pilot with the Civil Air Patrol from 1993-2010.
The family welcomed family and friends to visit on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, from 4-7 PM, at John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home in Salem. Funeral services will be conducted on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home chapel and immediately followed by a graveside service at Sherwood Memorial Park. The family wishes to thank the nursing staff at Richfield Long Term Care as well as the nurses and staff at Good Samaritan Hospice. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Good Samaritan Hospice of Roanoke in memory of Dale.
