Lonnie Rhea Slaughter's Obituary
Lonnie Rhea Slaughter was born in St. Edwards, Nebraska, on July 7th, 1948. He is preceded in death by his father, Leroy Trout, his mother, Wilma Trout, and his brothers, Joseph Slaughter, Virgil Trout, and Kenneth Trout. He leaves behind his son, Everett, Lien (daughter in law), Alex (grandson), his daughter Christina, Neil DeMerritt (son in law), his stepson Rex Cory, Kelsey (daughter in law), Riley (granddaughter), his ex-wife Mai, extended family, the Soliai’s; Junior, Upu, Mercy, Depa, Esther, Ella and Rhea, brother Eddie Trout, along with cousins, nieces, and nephews (in the US and Vietnam).
Lonnie grew up in Selah, Washington, graduating from Selah High School where he was voted ‘Most Class Spirit’. He joined the Army right after he turned 18 where he was in the Military Police. After tours in Turkey and Japan he was sent to Vietnam during the war. That is where he met his first wife, Mai, and the mother of Everett and Christina. Even though they were divorced they remained very close and good friends until his passing.
After Vietnam, Lonnie was stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington remaining there (except for one quick tour in S.Korea) until he retired in 1987, as a Sargeant First Class. He lived in Olympia, Tacoma and Lakewood during this time.
Lonnie was known as a hard worker with integrity and was a true servant leader to his troops in the service. No one ever spent the holidays alone under his watch. He was known to be fair and treated everyone the same. While Lonnie was an imposing, tall and big man, he also had a heart that matched his size. He was still working before he passed. When asked why, he said ‘Because I get to help people’. He also supported veterans and worked with veterans’ groups in his area to help provide housing when no one else would accommodate them.
Lonnie taught his kids to work hard, how to defend themselves, to be independent and accountable. His true passion was fishing, and he would love doing this the most with his son, Everett. He also had a passion for food, he loved eating. He loved asking for his favorite meals and desserts from his daughter Christina’s drop offs. Most of all he loved his family, which is a mix of multiple families coming together and extended family. Holidays, birthdays, BBQs, whatever the occasion, that is what meant the most to him. He will be dearly missed.
A graveside service with a military honors ceremony at Tahoma National Cemetery will be announced later.
In lieu of flowers the family asks that any memorial donations or contributions be made to your local Veterans programs.
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