Wayne E. Sliker

ST. PARIS – Wayne E. Sliker, 84 of rural St. Paris, Ohio, went home to our Lord after passing away on Oct. 15, 2025 at Mercy Health – Urbana Hospital. He entered this world on May 21, 1941 in Lebanon Township, New Jersey, the second of five sons born to the late Wilbur & Louise (Gross) Sliker.

Wayne is survived by his wife of 60½ years Connie (Freeman) Sliker; son, Kevin (Ann) Sliker; brothers, Bruce Sliker, Trent (Donna) Sliker; granddaughter, Britny Sliker; special cousin, Linda Giorgianni, as well as 4 nieces and 6 nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents; brother Keith Sliker, sisters-in-law Viginia Sliker and Genevieve Sliker.

Leader, mentor, a man with high integrity, an avid youth supporter, and simply a class act who routinely went out of his way to encourage others are among the descriptives used by the people who encountered Wayne Sliker throughout his earthly life. With no farming background in his immediate family, Wayne's interest in dairy took root during his freshman year of high school when he purchased his first Brown Swiss calf for his FFA project. As fate would have it, that calf eventually developed into his very first Excellent cow for his fledgling Top Acres herd. That calf became the genesis for a 69-year career with the Brown Swiss breed that has become one for the record books.

Just as Wayne's dairy career began to sprout, peers in his life were recognizing another trait – Wayne's leadership skills as his North Hunterdon Regional High School classmates elected him class president three of his four years of high school. As Wayne continued on his leadership journey, he was elected the high school's Chapter FFA president and simultaneously served as the New Jersey State FFA Secretary. After graduating high school in 1959, Wayne was elected the New Jersey State FFA president.

It was during this era that this hard-working, young man fully embraced his passion for the dairy industry as he started milking 20 registered Brown Swiss on a rented farm near Port Murray, N.J. As this business adventure got rolling, 1962 became a whirlwind year as Wayne became the only New Jersey high school student to win the coveted American Farmer Degree and he joined 350 other individuals from across the country to receive that award at the National FFA Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

Having won the state FFA judging contest that same year, Wayne earned a trip to the famed National Dairy Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa, which was North America's leading dairy show in that era. That turned out to be the trip of lifetime as Wayne was mentored by the legendary Vernon Hull, the 1941 Klussendorf winner who managed the world's leading Brown Swiss herd … Lee's Hill Farm. Hull saw something in Wayne and hired the young New Jersey native to travel by boxcar with the show herd that season. Fast forward through the years … those two gentlemen became perhaps the most recognized Brown Swiss breeders in the breed's history. In 2010, the Brown Swiss Cattle Breeders Association initiated two new awards where Hull became the very first Historical Master Breeder Award winner and Sliker would win the inaugural Active Master Breeder Award.

In 1963, while judging a New Jersey dairy show, Wayne met Connie Freeman. The couple married in 1965, and the husband-wife duo developed a bond walking side-by-side developing the Top Acres herd. Connie eventually fed every Brown Swiss calf on their family farm ensuring the next generation got off to a great start. Looking to purchase a farm of their own, Wayne and Connie decided to head west and purchased their farm near St. Paris, Ohio, in 1974, where the Top Acres herd made its permanent home and rewrote the Brown Swiss history books.

All totaled, the Top Acres herd amassed 125 All-Americans and over 100 Reserve All Americans — both all-time records in the Brown Swiss breed. During that journey, Wayne and his Top Acres Team had earned 19 Grand Champion honors at National Brown Swiss Shows. At World Dairy Expo, North America's premier Brown Swiss Show, the Top Acres herd amassed three Grand Champion Bulls, five Reserve Champion Cows, an Intermediate and Reserve Intermediate Champion Cow, three Junior Champion Heifers, and one Reserve Champion Heifer throughout the years.

In breeding and caring for a complete herd, Top Acres was named the show's Premier Exhibitor seven years and earned Premier Breeder at four shows. In addition, three different Top Acres bulls won Premier Sire Banners five times for having the offspring that made the deepest impact at the show. In 2017, the final elusive banner came home to hang in St. Paris, Ohio, when Top Acres Supreme Wizard ET won Grand Champion at that year's World Dairy Expo. In addition to Wizard, the most influential cows in Wayne's life were: Jan's Autumn Audrey, Kilravock Midnight Snow, Arnola Peggy Priscilla, Top Acres EJ Whizzbang, Top Acres Pre Bouquet, and Top Acres Coll Party who held the record for the breed's top selling cow for well over a decade. The Top Acres cows also performed on the production side of the equation earning 12 National Performance Winner honors.

In addition to his legendary herd, Wayne became a sought-after sales manager when his Modern Associates business was born in 1970. Just like the dairy farm enterprise, Connie played an integral role clerking all the sales. It was during this business adventure that his grade school and high school classmate, and long-time friend, the late Palmer Hoffman routinely joined the sales crew leading cattle preparation. Eventually, Modern Associates managed sales in 25 states and by 2008 had managed seven of the top 10 auctions to that date.

With a keen eye for dairy cattle, Mr. Brown Swiss became a sought-after judge eventually judging six shows at World Dairy Expo in the Ayrshire, Brown Swiss and Holstein breeds. In addition, he judged a total of 40 national shows in North America throughout the years. Respected across the globe, Wayne went on to judge dairy cattle shows in numerous countries and he became known as "John Wayne" in Japan as he wore his legendary cowboy hat while judging in Asia.

Due to his deep dairy cattle resume and life's work, Wayne won two of the highest honors in the North American dairy community. In 1986, his fellow peers elected him as the 45th Klussendorf Association winner for his character, sportsmanship, ability, and endeavor … the dairy industry's equivalent to being inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He later served a pair of two-year terms as the organization's president.

A decade later, National Dairy Shrine inducted the Top Acres herd into its all-dairy breed Hall of Fame in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, as its 1998 Distinguished Cattle Breeder. In supporting the nomination, the Holstein breed's legendary R. Peter Heffering from Hanover Hill Farms wrote, "Wayne is one of the finest showmen in the business and, most importantly, always conducts himself as a first-class gentleman. Wayne has accomplished all the goals one could expect to attain in a lifetime of working with cattle."

A Celebration of Life service will be planned in the near future to commemorate Wayne's life and legacy.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Dairy Proficiency Award, 6060 FFA Dr., Indianapolis, IN 46278, or to Cherish Hospice,1929 E. High St. Springfield OH 45505.

Arrangements have been entrusted to ATKINS, SHIVELY & VERNON Funeral Home, St. Paris, Ohio.

Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.vernonfh.com.