Obit: Sluther, Leonard F. "Whitey" (1917 – 1975)

Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Sluther, Groenewold, Sholes, Spaeth

---------Source: Owen Enterprise (Owen, Clark County, Wis.) 06 Feb 1975

Sluther, Leonard F. "Whitey" (24 APR 1917 – 30 JAN 1975)

At 1 p.m. Monday, February 10, 1975, funeral services for Leonard "Whitey" Sluther were conducted from St. John's Lutheran Church, Withee (Clark Co., Wis.). The Rev. Douglas Groenwold, parish pastor, was in charge of the final rites. Interment was made at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the family lot at Reedsburg, Wisconsin.

The deceased passed away at 4:42 p.m., Thursday, January 30, 1975 at St. Joseph's Hospital, Marshfield, where he had undergone open heart surgery earlier in the day. He had been admitted to the hospital for observation and treatment on the 19th of the month.

Leonard Fredrick Sluther was born August 24, 1917 in Sauk County, Wisconsin and was a resident of the Reedsburg area, where he attended school until 1945. At that time he moved to Janesville, where he was an employee of General Motors. In 1963 he purchased the Happy Hollow Tavern in Janesville, which he operated until 1969, when he purchased a farm in the Town of Auburndale. In 1971 he purchased another farm in the Town of Rock, Wood County, which he operated until 1973. Both of these farms were show places.

In July of 1973 he purchased the former Hamm Tavern in Owen (Clark Co., Wis.), and had since operated it as "Whitey's Bar."

Whitey was a member of the Owen Kiwanis Club, the Community Club, in addition to being a personable businessman whose personality reflected the success of his business. White, too, was a generous man, one that knew the value of a dollar, but also knew how to share it for the benefit of the community. In the brief time he was an active businessman in Owen, he left his impact.

He is survived by his wife, the former Donna Ellis Sholes, whom he married June 1, 11964 in Las Vegas, Nevada; a daughter, Sandra Kay, Owen; and two step-sons, Lawrence Sholes, Wisconsin Rapids, and Robert Sholes, Marshfield; a sister, Mrs. Kurt (Erma) Spaeth, Hartford; two brothers, William, Palin, and Robert, Cazenovia, and a granddaughter.

He was preceded in death by his parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick Sluther.