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Mrs. Slater, bookstore owner, dies

Mrs. Slater, bookstore owner, dies image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
June
Year
1981
Copyright
Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
Obituary
OCR Text

Florence C. Slater, who operated Slater's Book Store on S. State for more than 40 years, was a friend, employer and counselor for a generation of Michigan football players.
Widowed four years after her 1926 marriage to Marvin J. Slater who founded the book store, Slater operated the business, which closed in 1972, with the efficiency and competence of a seasoned merchant in an ear when women were not usually found in the market place. She befriended scores of U-M athletes, especially football players, employing them in rush periods and many times providing them with needed textbooks when they had no means to buy them.
Slater, who died Thursday, was never forgotten by the athletes, including Tom Harmon and Forest Evashevski, who visited her when they returned to Ann Arbor and always inquired about her in later years. Her lifetime interest in Michigan football was sparked by the marriage of her daughter, Joan, to Pete Elliott, who was an All America quarterback for Michigan in 1948 and later head coach at the University of Illinois and at the University of Miami. He currently is director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Canton, O. Mrs. Slater was elated in the 1960s when Pete's brother, Bump, also a Michigan grid star, became head football coach for the Wolverines.
She maintained a keen interest in Michigan sports in the retirement years, keeping up friendships with U-M sports figures including Bob Ufer, radio voice of Michigan football. Survivors in addition to her daughter include a grandson, Bruce, an Ann Arbor attorney, and David, an assistant football coach at the Washington State University.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Muehlig Funeral Home. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made in Slater's name to the Whitehall Convalescent Home. Friends may call at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday.