James Clifton Slaughter Jr.

James Clifton Slaughter, Jr.
November 13, 1948 - July 2, 2011
Denton, Texas
Cliff Slaughter, 62, passed away at his home in Denton, Texas surrounded by family on July 2, after a long courageous battle with cancer.
Cliff was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 13, 1948. He was the son of Lynn Slaughter Mills and the late James C. Slaughter, Sr. He was preceded in death by his father and his brother, Robert Lanier Slaughter. He is survived by mother; his children, Stacey Slaughter Simpson and husband Chris of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina; Renee Marie Slaughter of Denton; and Trevor James Slaughter of Lewisville, Texas; his fiancée Kat Lawson of Denton; his special friend Philip Nathaniel Greer of Denton; and by his granddaughter Caroline Lanier Simpson of Fuquay Varina. Other survivors include his brother, Benjamin Bernard Slaughter; his nephew, Benjamin James Slaughter and his fiancée, Erin Hardy; his niece Erin Slaughter Beaird and husband John and their two sons, Christopher and Cameron. He is also survived by several of his aunts; Mary Hornsby and her husband Dub, Annie Lee Arnold and Josephine Cotton, all of Fuquay Varina. He will be missed by many cousins and an extended family of loving friends.
Cliff graduated from Fuquay Varina High School in 1967 and Elon College in 1972. He served in the United States Marine Corp from 1969 to 1972. After graduating college, Cliff attended flight school in Pensacola, Florida with the United States Navy and served as a Lieutenant Commander until 1981. During his active duty he flew in Vietnam during the fall of Saigon. After leaving fulltime active Navy duty he continued to serve in the Reserves until 1994. He was hired as a pilot with Southwest Airlines in March of 1981 becoming a Captain 14 months later. He proudly flew for Southwest Airlines until his illness grounded him in June of 2008.
In addition to his love of flying in the Navy and commercially, his passion for flying extended to small aircraft beginning at age 16. Cliff had many other interests including being an avid hunter, sportsman, and a Master Class Shooter at Sporting Clays. He enjoyed air boating, fast cars and motorcycles, woodworking and welding. He also had a passion for people and made a difference in so many lives, especially during a rescue mission immediately following Hurricane Katrina to help find survivors using his air boat.
Cliff was a devoted and very loving son, father, grandfather, brother and friend to many and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Cliff's family would like to especially thank Kat Lawson, Philip Greer and Solaris Hospice for their support during this difficult time.
The Texas visitation is scheduled for Thursday, July 7 from 1- 2 p.m. at Bill DeBerry Funeral Home at 2025 West University Drive in Denton. The memorial service will be immediately following at 2 p.m.
The North Carolina memorial service is scheduled for Friday, July 15 at 11 a.m. at Fuquay Varina United Methodist Church at 100 South Judd Parkway in Fuquay Varina.
The family requests that donations be made to Solaris Hospice, 2250 S. FM 51, Suite400, Decatur, Texas 76234.