Dr. Rudie Wright Slaughter, jr.

Rudie Wright Slaughter, jr., Ph.D, 83, died January 11,2015 at his home in Cape Girardeau, MO, after a brief struggle against cancer. A Cape resident since his May 16, 1997, marriage to Joan Spencer Slaughter, he was an active Republican, poll-worker, census-taker, humorous raconteur, avid poker player, amateur genealogist, and a Cape Girardeau White Hat. Born April 11, 1931 in Kennett, MO, to Rudie Wright Slaughter Sr.and Margaret Evelyn Blankinship Slaughter, he grew up on their farm near Senath, MO, where he was a youth member of the First Baptist Church and valedictorian of the Senath High School class of 1949. He is an alumni the University of Missouri: B.S., Agricultural Journalism, 1953, and M.S., Agricultural Economics, 1964. In 1967, he completed his Doctorate in Agricultural Economics at the University of Illinois. While a University of Missouri undergraduate, he was the Missouri College Farmers editor and a member of the Farm-Writers Guild, Alpha Gamma Sigma, Omega Delta Kappa, Sigma Alpha Mu, and the Army Reserve Officer's Training Corp, where he was Captain of Scabbard & Blade. He served in the United States Army as an officer In the 527th Field Artillery Observation Battalion at Ft. Sill, OK, and Karlsruhe, Germany. Following his Army service, he was a farmer in Weston, MO, an editor for the Mississippi Chemical Cooperative in Yazoo City, MS, and an editor for the Missouri Farm Bureau in Jefferson City, MO. He served in the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture beginning in 1967, first in Washington D.C. as an economist and then in Columbia, MO, as a manager and economist, where he also chaired the Board of Trustees for the First United Methodist Church and, in later years, became a realty owner-broker. Survivors include his Wife, Joan Spencer Slaughter, his siblings Margaret (Honey) Baker and her husband Leon of Cape Girardeau; Victor B Slaughter and his wife Sybl of Lebanon, MO, and Allen Jordan Slaughter and his wife Sue of Fulton, MO; brother-in-law Dan Neely of Cape Girardeau; the mother of his children Sara Ruth Ohlhausen Slaughter of O'Fallon, IL; children Rudie Wright Slaughter III and wife Nila of Fredericksburg, TX, Sabrina Marie Sellmeyer and husband Jeff of McAlester,OK, Meril Monroe Slaughter and his Wife Susan Dewey of Union, Il, and Aaron Tory Slaughter and his wife Andrea of O'Fallon, Il; nine grandchildren, Aimee Chantel Esther Slaughter and her husband Kris Yirak, Tyler Allen Sellmeyer and his wife Rachael, Brandon Alexander Slaughter, Andrea Marie Lynch and her husband Benjamin, Akiko Rae, Ryan Nicholas, Jacob Christopher, Michael David, and Katherine Victoria Slaughter, one great-grandson, Jackson Allen Sellmeyer, a step-daughter, Robin Odelle Rao of Westminster, MD; a step-son Lucas Coval McWilliams and his wife Laura of Lancaster, KY; and eight step-grandchildren, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Elizabeth Ann Neely, and step-son William Edward Hood. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, January 16, 2015 at the First Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau, the Rev. Dr. Kim Nelson officiating. Private interment with military honors will be at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery, Bloomfield, MO. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Memorial contributions may be given to the First Presbyterian Church of Cape Girardeau or to the charity of your choice

Tributes

Dr. Rudie Wright Slaughter, jr.

January 11, 2015