Daisy Joyce Willbanks Sledge's Obituary
Services for Daisy Joyce Willbanks Sledge we be held at the First
Presbyterian Church in Longview at 2PM on Friday, October 11, 2002, with Reverend Jonathan Jehorek officiating, with interment in Rosewood Park Cemetery.
Mrs. Sledge was born in Kilgore in 1940 to Velma and B. L. Willbanks. She graduated from Sabine High School in 1957,
attended Brookhaven College in Carrollton and Southern Methodist
University in Dallas as well as Columbia University in New York
City.
Mrs. Sledge moved from Kilgore to Dallas in 1959 to work for First
National Bank of Dallas. She was later an executive assistant for
First Southwest Company in Dallas.
In 1973, Mrs. Sledge moved with her two sons to New York City.
Mrs. Sledge and Charles Robert Sledge married May 17, 1975. She
and her husband moved to Longview in May 1992.
She served as a volunteer with the Texas War on Drugs as a National
Network volunteer. She was a volunteer board member of the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth, Washington, D. C. and the National Hispanic Family Against Drugs. She was an advisor to the Drug Free Youth of America organization.. She was a guest in October 1988 on the Geraldo Rivera Show about parents with kids on drugs.
By invitation from the White House, Mrs. Sledge headed a three-woman committee in June 1988 to brief then Vice President George Bush on the nation?s parent and youth drug prevention movement. She was invited to the White House to participate in a closed briefing in the Roosevelt
Room and provided input at Vice President Bush?s request, regarding the 1990 drug strategy plans for the nation. She particularly enjoyed her
work with Drug Czar William Bennett.
Other volunteer involvement by Mrs. Sledge include Cancer Care,
Inc./ National Cancer Care Foundation, New York City, Children?s Hospital, Dallas, the American Heart Association, the National Kidney Foundation and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.
Mrs. Sledge was licensed as a Stephen Minister for Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian Church while residing in New York City and worked with
people in crisis.
She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and she is survived by her husband Charles Robert Bob Sledge, and her children, Jayson Booth of Houston, Jeffrey and Connie Sledge of Scarsdale, New York,
Colin and Gina Sledge of Flower Mound, Texas, Tracy and Tony Gotcher of Houston, Becky and Steve Johnson of Denton; one sister, Dorothy Elsey;
five brothers, Ottis, Darrell, Dannon, Floyd and Wiley Willbanks and eleven grandchildren.
Family visitation will be from 6-8 PM at Rader Funeral Home, 1617 Judson Rd, in Longview on Thursday, October 10, 2002.
Those desiring to make memorial contributions, may make them to Youth Department, First Presbyterian Church, Box 1006, Longview, Texas 75606.
Those unable to attend services may sign an online guestbook through obituaries at www.raderfh.com.
What’s your fondest memory of Daisy Joyce?
What’s a lesson you learned from Daisy Joyce?
Share a story where Daisy Joyce's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Daisy Joyce you’ll never forget.
How did Daisy Joyce make you smile?