James Jeremiah Slade

1935 - 2019

SLADE
James Jeremiah Slade, 84, died February 1, 2019, at his home in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Jerry was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 1, 1935. The younger son of Jacksonville native Blanche Hall Slade and Thomas Bog Slade, Jr. Jerry attended Landon High School, the Bolles School, and the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. Graduating in 1957 with a B.A. in Economics from the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee, he later attended the Indiana University Graduate School of Business, Executive Development Conference, Marketing Management Seminar for the hospital/physician supply distributors industry.
Jerry joined Surgical Supply Company of Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida in 1957, was appointed sales manager in 1965, Vice-President and Treasurer in 1969, and President and General Manager in 1971. He was active in the American Surgical Trade Association, serving in 1970-72 as Southeast District Chairman, 1972-74 National Board of Directors, and after leaving the industry in 1978, was named an Honorary Life Member.
In Jacksonville, Jerry was an active communicant of St. Peter's Chapel, serving as a Senior Warden and chairing various committees. As a member of the 300-member Rotary Club of Jacksonville, from 1965, he served as a Director and Secretary. As a member of the United Way, he served on the Executive, Allocations, and Finance Committees. As a member of Ye Mystic Revellers, he served as Captain in 1975 and King in 1979. He served on the boards of the American Red Cross, the Boys Service Council, YMCA, St. Marks Episcopal Day School, and the Florida Yacht Club.
After 19 years as a distributor of hospital and physician supplies in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, and the sale of his company, Jerry was named President of Pinehurst, Incorporated in 1976. He directed and coordinated all operational aspects of the resort and community development company. In 1976, shortly after arriving in Pinehurst, Jerry worked to engage George and Tom Fazio in designing and constructing Course No. 6. In 1978, Tom Fazio was selected to restore 26 bunkers on the No. 2 course and widen the fairways to meet the bunkers designed to guard them—putting surfaces were returned to the original perimeters as dictated by Donald Ross. With the change in Pinehurst, Inc. ownership in 1982, Jerry resigned to acquire a general real estate firm in the Village of Pinehurst. In 1996 he sold his firm and became a broker associate with the local Prudential affiliate.
Jerry and his wife, Sarah, were active communicants of the Village Chapel, where he served as President in 1982-83 and Chairman in 1983-85. As a member of Southern Pines Rotary from 1976-82 and its Board 1978-81, he was Charter President of the Rotary Club of Pinehurst in 1982 and named Paul Harris Fellow. He joined the Board of Moore Regional Hospital (First Health) in 1978 and served as Chairman in 1985-86. During his 12 years, the hospital underwent many expansions, adding heart surgery, a wellness center, a children's daycare center, and ambulatory surgery.
The Slades hosted the O'Neal School Designer Show House in 1977 at their Pinehurst home, Three Chimneys. They chaired the Hospital Ball in 1983, the Beaux Arts Ball to benefit the N.C. Museum of Art in 1980 and included as their celebrity guest, Queen Sirikit, Her Majesty the Queen of Thailand, Bangkok. They also chaired the very successful Polo for the Arts in 1988-89.
Jerry served as Chairman of the Advisory Board of North Carolina National Bank (now Bank America), President of the Sandhills Cemetery Association, and as a member, Occoneechee Council of Executive Board, Boy Scouts of America. From 1976-79, he was a member of the Pinehurst Village Council, from 1976-81 a board member of the Pinehurst Country Club, and active as a member of both the Pinehurst Forum and American Red Cross. As a member of the Sandhills Area Chamber of Commerce, he served several terms on the Board of Directors and as a Vice-President. A member of the Pinehurst-Southern Pines Area Association of Realtors since 1983, as well as the state and national organizations, Jerry served on the local Board of Directors, on its Nominating Committee in 1993 and its Grievance Committee in 1991-94.
Jerry is survived by his beloved wife of fifty-nine years, Sarah Boone Slade; their son, Richard Kirven Slade II of Pinehurst; their daughters, Dorothy Slade Mann (Thom) of Pinehurst, and Blanche Slade Hancock (George) of Southern Pines; their grandchildren James and Isabelle Slade of Sanford, Elizabeth (Liz) and Thomas Mann of Pinehurst, and Boone and Phillip Hancock of Southern Pines; his brother Thomas Bog Slade, III of Jacksonville, FL; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
A private memorial service will be held in St. Teresa, Florida. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to First Health Hospice Foundation, 150 Applecross Rd. Pinehurst, NC 28374, or the local hospice organization of your choice.

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