David Leroy Sloan, 79, died Tuesday, June 29, 2021, in Salem, Ore. At David’s request, there will be no funeral or memorial service.
David was born on July 28, 1941, in Iola, the son of Clyde Austin and Lillian Louise Morrow Sloan. David graduated from Iola High School in 1959 and attended Westmar College for one year prior to serving four years in the U.S. Air Force as a translator/interpreter in Berlin, Germany. He later graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in finance/accounting in 1968, the first member of his family to achieve this feat.
David spent his career in the utility industry. After several years with telephone companies, he served as vice president for Nevada Power Company and then as senior vice president and CFO of Southwest Gas Corporation.
After leaving the corporate world, David opened a retail store — Sloan’s Country Interiors — in Las Vegas, Nev. Later he moved to Salem, Ore., and worked for the Public Utility Commission of Oregon for 13 years. In his life and career, David always loved helping people. He loved recruiting and hiring employees, showing leadership abilities, and then guiding them in the development of their corporate management skills.
David married his soulmate, Renee Kitzan Wallace, on Oct. 19, 2000. With Renee, Dave completed his life’s bucket list: skydiving, paragliding, parasailing, paraplaning, ultralighting, jet boating several rapids, taking multiple bi-wing flights and helicopter tours, plus visiting all 50 of the United States. Dave’s life theme was: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
David was a member of the Jaycees for several years, and even chartered a new club, the Lexington Area Jaycees, in his then hometown of Lexington, Ohio. Dave was also a long-time member of Rotary Club International and served as president of the North Las Vegas Club as well as District Governor’s Representative for Group 1 in Southern Nevada. He was also a charter member of Leadership Las Vegas.
Survivors include: wife, Renee, Salem, Ore.; children of David and his first wife, Carol Ann Gowin Sloan, Kurt Sloan (Leslie) of Denver, Colo., Kelly Sloan Szep (Zsolt) of Las Vegas, and Kent Sloan (Adriana Escobar) of Beaverton, Ore; sister, Pamela Kay Sloan O’Brien (Bill), of Joplin, Mo.; and grandchildren, Logan Sloan and Brady Sloan of Denver; Jared Colin of Beaverton; Jonah Colin of Las Vegas; Sebastian Szep of Boise, Idaho, Aidan Szep of Las Vegas, Patrick Sloan of Beaverton, and Julianna Escobar of Beaverton. David is also survived by step-son George Wallace (Larissa) and their children Ayana, Zaria, Edric, and Renzo whom David fondly referred to as “the grandkiddies.”
David was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde Austin and Lillian Louise Morrow Sloan of Joplin, Mo.; first wife and mother of his children, Carol; and brother, Tony Ray Sloan, Joplin, Mo.
His legacy will be honored as those who loved him chase after and cherish life’s breathtaking moments the way that he did.
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