Thomas Leonard Slager, 86, of Washington Court House, Ohio passed away peacefully at his home with family by his side on Sunday, March 1, 2026.
Tom was born August 6, 1939, in Bloomingburg, Ohio, to Leonard Clarence and Eunice Carolyn Thomas Slager. He was a 1957 graduate of Bloomingburg High School and was a lifelong resident of Fayette County.
After working on his family farm as a youngster and graduating from high school, where he was editor of the yearbook and manager of the basketball team, he delivered milk for Sagers Dairy on his bike, later delivering 7-Up and serving as a volunteer firefighter in Washington Court House. He then became an entrepreneur and started Tom’s Carpet Service in the 1960s, serving Fayette County and the surrounding region, offering installation and cleaning services for 30 years. Upon retirement, he joined the Washington City school system as the custodian of Sunnyside Kindergarten and retired again in 2008, after 15 years of service. A man who could not sit still, he later worked for two local companies making deliveries in Ohio and the surrounding states.
He was a member of the WCH Grace Methodist Church, Fayette Lodge #107 F.&A.M.; a 65-year member of the Valley of Columbus Scottish Rite 32nd Degree Masons; Aladdin Temple Shrine in Columbus; the Washington Shrine Club and Fayette Aerie #423 of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He served in the Ohio National Guard; was a member of Paul H. Hughey Post #25 of the American Legion; O.E. Hardway Post #3762 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and served on the Fayette County Honor Guard. During his lifetime, he was a fantastic dancer, water skier, roller skater, bowler, animal lover, card player, traveler, Reds baseball fan, camper, boater, and fisherman. He made higher education a priority for his family, proudly supporting his children and grandchildren as they earned college degrees from Otterbein University, Denison University, Adrian College, Capital University, and Mount Vernon Nazarene University. He took great pride in their accomplishments and enjoyed family holidays, birthdays, and life’s many milestones. He also cared for those less fortunate in a quiet manner, offering shelter and a hand up when someone was in need in the community.
He was preceded in death by his father in 1988, his mother in 2008, and the mother of his children, Lucinda Sue (Cinda) Schlichter Slager, in 2017; as well as his companion Phyllis Newlan, in 2022.
Tom is survived by two daughters, Jennifer J. Pearce and her husband, Bill, of Pinehurst, North Carolina, and Dr. Amanda M. Pickerill and her husband, Craig, of Clintonville, Ohio.; five grandchildren, Meghan (Will) Lull of Arlington, Virginia, Morgan (Levi) Pearce of Bristol, Tennessee; Maria Pickerill of Columbus, Gabriel Pickerill of Columbus (currently living in China) and Toby Pickerill of Clintonville; and close family, Anne and Steve Schlichter of Grandview, Ohio.
A Masonic service will be held Saturday, March 7, 2026, at 1 p.m. at the Kirkpatrick Funeral Home in Washington Court House. Burial, with complete military honors, will follow in Bloomingburg Cemetery.
Friends may call at the funeral home on Saturday from 11 a.m. until the time of the service.
In lieu of flowers, Tom requested that memorial contributions be made to Shriners Children’s Ohio Hospital, c/o the Washington Shrine Club, P.O. Box 164, Washington Court House, OH 43160
www.kirkpatrickfuneralhome.com
