Ralph Daniel Sluder

Ralph Daniel “Dan” Sluder, 85, of 6 Snelson Cemetery Rd., Leicester, died Friday, December 7, 2007, at his residence. A native of Buncombe Co., Mr. Sluder was a son of the late Mark and Mary Israel Sluder. He was also preceded in death by one sister, Evelyn Lee; two brothers, Roland, and Carlos Sluder; one infant brother, and three infant sisters. Mr. Sluder worked for Farmers Federation and FCX. He retired from Southern States. He was also a U.S. Army veteran, serving in WWII, earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He was a member of VFW Post #891 and a member of Turkey Creek Baptist Church. Mr. Sluder is survived by his wife, Barbara Hawkins Sluder; daughter, Annie Lee Cole; son, Ralph D. Sluder, Jr., and wife Susan; sisters, Dorothy Hensley, and Cora Fay Rash and husband Millard, all of Leicester; brother, Gerald Sluder, of Leicester; and grandchildren, Jeffrey R. Cole, Karen O’Kelley, Mark Sluder, and Matt Sluder, all of Asheville. Funeral services will be 1:00 p.m. Monday in Groce Funeral Home chapel on Patton Ave. with the Revs. Joe Babb and Ray Hipps officiating. Interment will follow at Ashelawn Memorial Gardens. His family will receive friends 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Flowers are accepted, or memorials may be made to the Mountain View Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, Leicester.