Dolores “Dolly” Louise Johnson Slater,  born January 20, 1934, joined our Lord in heaven on March 26, 2022.

Dolly was born in Evanston, Illinois, to John and Martha Johnson. She attended Evanston Township High School where she excelled in her academics. She played piccolo and flute in the marching band and received a full music scholarship to Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she was Kappa Delta and Mu Phi Epsilon.

At Coe, Dolly met her future husband, Robert Adair Slater, “Bob,” of Sioux City, Iowa, son of Frank G. and Helen A. Slater. Bob and Dolly were married in St. John’s Episcopal Church in Evanston in 1954.   

Bob was training as a pilot in the United States Air Force and they quickly set off on their Air Force life of moving to bases including California, Florida, Georgia, Las Vegas, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Washington State before they retired in Owl’s Head, Maine.

Dolly was a loving wife and mother, and an exceptional “domestic engineer.” She efficiently ran the home which changed geographically about every 18 months for 11 years. She packed and unpacked their three daughters, horses, dogs, cats, etc., often times alone while Bob was “On Duty” in Strategic Air Command or in Vietnam. When Bob was home they were actively involved in the “Officer’s Wive’s Club.”  

Dolly excelled in equestrian jumping and dressage, was a masters’ butterfly swimmer, played bagpipes in a pipe and drum band, raced rally with Bob in their beloved TR4 and with Bob and the girls on their sailboats. When not competing, Dolly was active in the Catholic Church, earned a brown belt in judo, snow skied, advocated for the needy, was an avid reader, performed in a mummer’s play, was a docent at the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum, a world traveler, and played flute, piccolo, organ, piano, chanter, concertina, guitar and sang in church choirs. She could play any instrument she chose.

Lt. Col. Robert A. Slater retired from Patrick Air Force Base (Patrick Space Station) in 1973 and they built a home and retired in Owl’s Head, Maine. After Bob passed in 2018, Dolly moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida, to be with her daughters.

Dolly is survived by daughter Cynthia S. and David Kendall of The Woodlands, Texas, and their children Giuliana Kendall of The Woodlands, and Robert “Ian” and wife Lexi Kendall and their children Ava and Cody Kendall of Bryan, Texas; daughter Sandra Slater-Wurtzebach and Mark Wurtzebach of Cocoa Beach; Judith S. and Robert “Bob” Eberle of Cocoa Beach, and their children Merritt H. and William Walker and their daughter Calliope of Tallahassee, Florida, and son John Eberle of Cocoa Beach, and Jean (Slater) and Robert Kerns of Tampa, Florida.

Special thanks to Palm Cottages assisted living in Rockledge, FL, and to the amazing staff and caregivers at Vitas in Rockledge, Florida. 

Funeral services are planned for Friday, April 29, 2022, at 11 a.m., at St. David’s By The Sea, 600 4th Street South, Cocoa Beach, FL, 32931

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund or the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, or the charity of your choice.

Funeral arrangements were assisted by Beckman-Williamson Funeral Homes & Crematory.