James (Jim) Anthony Slingluff, 63, a teacher, river runner, autoharp player, author and wanderer who followed his dreams and ignored conventional rules, died Friday, March 20, in Reisterstown MD of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Jim was born December 21, 1951 in Rochester PA, the son of Pastor James B Slingluff and Jean A Vodenichar. He grew up in the small towns of Worthington and Ridgway in Pennsylvania and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland near Suicide Bridge in Dorchester County. He graduated from North Dorchester High School in Hurlock MD in 1969 and from Thiel College in Greenville PA in 1973 with a BA in sociology. Other degrees include a BA in education from Arizona State University in 1978 and an MS in economics from John Hopkins University in 1981.
Jim taught history at Frances Scott Key High School in Westminster MD before embarking on 20 year career as a field representative for the Arizona Education Association.
Jim defied stereotypes. He was an active Quaker in the Tucson and Pipe Creek meetings and was also a hunter and member of the National Rifle Association. He was a respected educator and a member of the National Hobo Association who crisscrossed the country numerous times hitchhiking and hopping trains. His greatest passion was reserved for the preservation of the Verde River in Arizona. An expert whitewater canoeist, he guided annual canoe trips on the Verde, authored the VERDE RIVER RECREATION GUIDE (Golden West Publishers, Phoenix AZ, 1990) and served as a survey volunteer for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. He played a role in the confirmation of the Verde as a navigable river by providing testimony in court and at public hearings, helping to ensure the protection of the river from exploitation by private interests and its continued use as a public recreation area.
Jim is survived by his parents who live in Westminster MD, his sister Joyce Wilbur and brother in law Edward John of Alexandria VA, his sister Dorothy Slingluff and sister in law Marion Lang of Charlottesville VA, a niece and her husband, Emily and Tom Bouman and great niece Barbara Jean Bouman of Carlisle PA, and nephew Scott Wilbur of Alexandria VA. He is also survived by 8 godchildren, a large clan of aunts, uncles and cousins and many good friends who enhanced his life. The family will receive friends on Friday, April 10, 2015 from 10 a.m. until the time of a Memorial Service at 11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 833 Deer Park Road, Westminster, with Rev. C. Dahl Drenning officiating. Inurnment will follow at a later date in Sylvania Hills Cemetery in Rochester, Pennsylvania.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home in Westminster. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at http://www.alz.org/ or the Verde River Greenway at http://verderivergreenway.org/donate.php.
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Jim was born December 21, 1951 in Rochester PA, the son of Pastor James B Slingluff and Jean A Vodenichar. He grew up in the small towns of Worthington and Ridgway in Pennsylvania and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland near Suicide Bridge in Dorchester County. He graduated from North Dorchester High School in Hurlock MD in 1969 and from Thiel College in Greenville PA in 1973 with a BA in sociology. Other degrees include a BA in education from Arizona State University in 1978 and an MS in economics from John Hopkins University in 1981.
Jim taught history at Frances Scott Key High School in Westminster MD before embarking on 20 year career as a field representative for the Arizona Education Association.
Jim defied stereotypes. He was an active Quaker in the Tucson and Pipe Creek meetings and was also a hunter and member of the National Rifle Association. He was a respected educator and a member of the National Hobo Association who crisscrossed the country numerous times hitchhiking and hopping trains. His greatest passion was reserved for the preservation of the Verde River in Arizona. An expert whitewater canoeist, he guided annual canoe trips on the Verde, authored the VERDE RIVER RECREATION GUIDE (Golden West Publishers, Phoenix AZ, 1990) and served as a survey volunteer for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. He played a role in the confirmation of the Verde as a navigable river by providing testimony in court and at public hearings, helping to ensure the protection of the river from exploitation by private interests and its continued use as a public recreation area.
Jim is survived by his parents who live in Westminster MD, his sister Joyce Wilbur and brother in law Edward John of Alexandria VA, his sister Dorothy Slingluff and sister in law Marion Lang of Charlottesville VA, a niece and her husband, Emily and Tom Bouman and great niece Barbara Jean Bouman of Carlisle PA, and nephew Scott Wilbur of Alexandria VA. He is also survived by 8 godchildren, a large clan of aunts, uncles and cousins and many good friends who enhanced his life. The family will receive friends on Friday, April 10, 2015 from 10 a.m. until the time of a Memorial Service at 11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 833 Deer Park Road, Westminster, with Rev. C. Dahl Drenning officiating. Inurnment will follow at a later date in Sylvania Hills Cemetery in Rochester, Pennsylvania.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home in Westminster. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at http://www.alz.org/ or the Verde River Greenway at http://verderivergreenway.org/donate.php.