Slusher

Memorial service for Joseph Chester Slusher, 82, of Rockdale will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 26, 2018, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Rockdale.

Mr. Slusher died Tuesday, April 10, at Scott & White Hospital in Temple.

He was born March 19, 1936, in Middletown, Ohio, to Harmon and Molly Collette (Cox) Slusher.

He attended school in a one-room school house in Kentucky until the age of 16. At that time, he left school and began working as a straw boss for Pennsylvania Railroad in Ohio, telling them he was 21.

Mr. Slusher attended Black-wood Business College in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, taught by Dale Carnegie.

He worked various jobs in San Antonio where his brother Jim was living.

Mr. Slusher worked for Tyce Engineering in the tool and die area while living in Chula Vista, California. He and his brother moved to Port Arthur, where they co-owned Slusher Motors selling used cars. In 1960, they came to Rockdale where they were co-owners of Harmony Motor Lodge & Restaurant and where he met his soon-to-be wife.

On Dec. 5, 1960, he married Judith Lumpkins in Taylor. Fifty years later, they renewed their wedding vows at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Rockdale.

From 1961 to 1963, Mr. Slusher was owner/operator/mechanic at Mobile Oil in Rockdale.

The Slushers left Rockdale for Las Vegas, Nevada, where he worked at Desert Motors in the new car “get ready” area. He also was on the Chrysler racing team for driver Bill Vukovich at Indianapolis 500.

Leaving Nevada, the Slushers moved to Denver, Colorado, where he was service manager on five different floors with Downtown Chrysler. In Fresno, California, he was owner/operator/mechanic at his Arco station. He then owned Slusher Motors also in Fresno, selling Subaru and Peugeot vehicles.

In 1973, the Slushers returned to Rockdale where he worked 17 years with Gaither Motor Co. He retired in 1989 to work cattle on the J&J & Sons Ranch and owned rental properties, including Steel Magnolias.

Mr. Slusher was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Rockdale and was a co-owner in the Rockdale Gun Club.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, James Harmon “Jim” Slusher.

Survivors are his wife, Judith Lumpkins Slusher of Rockdale; two sons, Ronald Harmon Slush-er and wife Robin of League City, Michael Joseph Slusher and wife Wendy of Crosby; four grandchildren, Alisha Ann Slusher, Travis Joseph Slusher, Makayla Rene Slusher and Regan Elise Slush-er; and five great-grandchildren, Brantley Buck Slusher, Bralynne Grace Slusher, Kinsley Carter Slusher-Birch, Kamden Michael Slusher and Raeleigh Jo Slusher.

Memorials may be made to American Heart Association, P.O. Box 8411125, Dallas, TX 75284-1125.