Richard "Dick" Duane Slagell

Richard "Dick" Duane Slagell died August 1, 2022, following a stroke one week earlier. He was born January 29, 1937, in St. Johns, Michigan, to Earl and Dorothy (Sharick) Slagell. At the age of 9 he was involved in an automobile crash that claimed the lives of his mother and grandmother. Several years later his father married Annabell (Kauffman) Slagell. Dick earned his BA in music from Goshen College (IN) and his Master's in Elementary Education from Western Michigan University. He worked 35 years for Comstock Public Schools, first as a music teacher, then as a principal, but for most of those 35 years, he taught 5th grade.

Dick loved music, gardening, traveling, camping, biking, ping pong, and pickleball. He was an avid softball player. At the age of 60 he was the pitcher for a coed team including other family members that won first place. He loved to fix things and figure out how things worked. His musical talents included singing and playing the guitar, and he played trombone in the high school marching band starting at the age of 12, when his trombone was almost as long as he was tall. For many years he sang in the choir at gracespring Bible Church, and he sang several years with the New Genesis male quartet.

Dick is survived by his wife of 63 years, Norma Slagell; his son Ron (Brenda) Slagell; his daughters Karen (Gail Jungbluth) Slagell and Diane Slagell; his grandchildren Neil Wenger, Jennifer Slagell, Matthew Slagell, and Chloe Slagell; and his sisters Loretta Newcomer, Barbara (Phil) Landis, and Jeanette (Jerry) Slabaugh, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family will receive visitors 1 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, August 15, at gracespring Bible Church in Richland. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, August 16, at gracespring Bible Church, 8643 Gull Rd. Richland, MI 49083. The family requests masks be worn during visitation. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Shalom Inc. (PO Box 265, Kalamazoo, MI 49004; https://www.shalomkazoo.org/) or gracespring Bible Church, 8643 Gull Rd. Richland, MI 49083.