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Letter to the editor

To his children, he was a man of mystery

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published December 5, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Family photo] Mr. Sloan met his wife Sally in a his parents' Kenwood store, where he sold ice cream.

ST. PETERSBURG - The kids had no idea what dad did for a living. Sometimes, Edwin Sloan Sr. got mysterious phone calls in the night. Other times, he'd pack a suitcase and go to Albuquerque.

"He did a top-secret job," said his son, Edwin Jr. "You didn't go out to see where dad worked. There was a guard shack and guns."

He was a man of responsibility. He had few words, and a lot going on.

***

Mr. Sloan was proud to be born and raised in St. Petersburg.

In high school, he was only 5 feet 6, but stocky. He played both linebacker and running back on the football team. Kids called him Stumpy Sloan.

His family owned a store in the Kenwood neighborhood, where Mr. Sloan sold ice cream and sodas. There, he met Sally. He proposed with a gold ring with a diamond chip.

The Army sent Mr. Sloan to South Carolina. Every Friday, Mrs. Sloan drove through the night from St. Petersburg to meet her husband for breakfast. Later, they moved to Alaska, when it wasn't yet a state and felt like the Wild West.

Their first child, a baby girl named Cindy Lee, died as an infant. They had three more children. Life wasn't easy, but they made vows. Mr. Sloan wasn't the type to go back on a promise.

***

He could have stepped out of a movie - short-sleeved white dress shirts, clean-cut looks, pointed personality. Big, intense job.

For decades, he was a technician for General Electric, which contracted with the Energy Department. At the height of the Cold War, his son said, Mr. Sloan designed nuclear weapons.

It was not something he discussed around the dinner table.

He built his family one of the first homes in Kenneth City. He didn't demand much of his children, just that they tried their hardest.

Whenever he had to go away, five minutes or a week, he said, "See you in a little while." He always kissed Mrs. Sloan the same way - two quick pecks, and one long one.

He promised she'd never have to move, even at her weakest. He cared for her at home until she died in 2006 after a long battle with Parkinson's.

Three days after her death, as Mr. Sloan slept, an intruder ransacked the house, taking credit cards, silverware, personal records. He also took the gold ring with the diamond chip.

Mr. Sloan didn't think he'd ever see the ring again. But police made an arrest and found a small jewelry box with the ring still inside. He was so thankful.

On Sunday, Mr. Sloan died of heart failure. He was 77.

The gold ring is safe and sound.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

BIOGRAPHY

Edwin Sloan Sr.

Born: Dec. 31, 1929

Died: Dec. 2, 2007

Survivors: Children, Edwin Jr., Sharon, Debbie, Belinda; eight grandchildren.

[Last modified December 4, 2007, 23:19:21]