Harry L. Slater

HARRY SLATER (1921 - 2012) Harry Slater, a resident of Riverside, CA for over 50 years, passed away at age 91 on October 11, 2012. He was a loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. His passion was always for his family and he devoted his later years to caring for Lillian, his wife of 60 years, who passed away in 2010. Harry was born on June 25, 1921 in Toledo, Ohio. At age 20, he joined the United States Army and served in the South Pacific during WWII and Japan following the war. He returned to Toledo after leaving the Army and married the pretty girl from down the street - Lillian. He and Lillian had a young family and moved to Tucson, AZ following the advice of physicians to improve their young daughter's respiratory condition. They moved shortly after to California and settled in Riverside. He worked for the United States Air Force for many years starting as an aircraft mechanic at Norton Air Force Base and retired in 1981 as a flight line supervisor. He and his wife Lillian traveled extensively throughout the country in their retirement wearing out several motor homes over the course of their travels. He is survived by his daughter Cassandra Smith of Temecula, CA; his son and daughter-in-law, David and Kimberly Slater of Huntington Beach, CA; his son, Dennis Slater and his partner Alan Bloom of Palm Springs, CA; his grandchildren, Chandra, Arianne, Joey and Cameron and great-grandchildren, Ashley, Taylor, Madison, Cole and Jacob. He will be buried at the Riverside National Cemetery (22495 Van Buren Blvd) and a brief memorial service will be held there starting promptly at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, October 30th (wait at Staging Area 1 for procession). In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Military Services program (www.vfw.org/contribute) in memory of Harry Slater.