Violet M. Sloat

1940 - 2021

Violet M. Sloat, 80, of Baltimore, MD, left us on Monday, 20 December, after a short but hard battle with COVID. This must still annoy her, as she hated losing a fight.

Violet was born in Valhalla, NY, on December 30, 1940. After high school, she worked in the New York City area for several years before joining the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scranton, PA, in 1965. While in the convent, she earned her bachelor's degree, became a teacher and, most important, forged bonds with her fellow sisters that would turn into lifelong friendships. Violet left the convent in 1976 and proceeded to spend several years as a volunteer at the Catholic Worker house in Kansas City.

She moved to Baltimore in 1980 to pursue a master's degree in social work at UMD and a second master's degree in pastoral counseling from Loyola. While pursuing these degrees, Violet fell in love with Baltimore.

Throughout her life, Violet carried with her two things. The first was an apparent vow of poverty. Violet never cared much for money or material things, and, possibly as a result, she never had a lot of both. One of our favorite stories in Violet lore is when her apartment building was burgled years ago. When the thieves got to her apartment, they must have been disappointed. They took only a pillowcase to carry their other ill-gotten gains-and then used her phone to call a cab. But whatever Violet had, she shared easily, happily. If she had it, and you needed it, she gave it. Sometimes even if she needed it more.

The second thing she carried with her was a commitment to a life of service. She was a champion of the overlooked and the underserved, those too often forgotten by others. She was a teacher in disadvantaged areas. She fostered two young boys. She tutored. She opened her home to women and families in need over her many years living in Baltimore. She worked for the Maryland Department of Aging for more than twenty years as a program officer and advocate for the elderly. Violet served as a National Observer for Maryland at the 1995 White House Conference on Aging and served on the Baltimore Commission on Aging and Retirement Education. After retiring from the State, she was recruited to serve the Baltimore City Department of Aging as a Special Projects Manager and Grant Specialist. After her second retirement Violet volunteered at Action in Maturity (AIM), an organization providing services to Baltimore seniors, where she wrote grants and (heaven help us) assisted with tax preparation. She continued volunteering at AIM until the pandemic sadly limited her work.

Violet is survived by her much-loved sister, Madeline Giganti, her nephews, Carmine, Christopher, and John Giganti and Anthony and Charles Sloat; her great niece and nephews; and countless extended family members and friends. She also leaves behind her family of the heart: Ellen, Jack, Etta, Bridget, Ellen, Kathleen, Pam, and Julie.

We will miss her quick wit, generous spirit, and constant affirmations of our own beauty and goodness-and even her strong opinions and stubborn independence. But we are happy she is at peace, and we are at peace knowing that somewhere she is sharing a cup of tea or a cold beer with Kim, Kathy, Charles, Carmine, and other loved ones she has not seen in a while and has missed terribly.

Donations in Violet's name may be made to MD SPCA, 3300 Falls Road or AIM (Action in Maturity), 700 W. 40th St. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date. To receive notice of the service, respond to Violetsloat@gmail.com.