In Memoriam / Tributes Remembering Former FNS Employee Mary E. LaMotte Slusher
MEMORIAL DONATIONS
December 15, 1923 - December 21, 2019
The following people gave contributions to Frontier in memory of their friends or loved ones. The names in bold are the deceased.
Mary E. LaMotte Slusher was born on December 15, 1923, in Red Lion, Pennsylvania. Her mother passed soon after birth. Mary was raised by her father Fred K. LaMotte and his wonderful wife, Lida. During those years she learned to bicycle, ice skate, roller skate, ballroom dance, speak French and play the piano and basketball, lettering three years at Red Lion High School. She loved the water and spent a lot of time on the sailboat and was part of an aquacade. She loved to travel, taking many trips including New York, Atlantic City, Florida, Bermuda, Canada, and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.
Jeanette Bartelt Ms. Jean Bartelt
Mary grew up in Pennsylvania giving “her pennies” to Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky. As a young woman, she came to Red Bird as a volunteer and met Ernest Calvin Slusher, who she later married. Mary worked at Frontier Nursing Service while waiting on Ernest to return from Korea. At the time of Ernest’s death in 2015, they had been married for 60 years. They lived in Bell County, except for Ernest’s schooling after their marriage, until moving to Wesley Village Retirement Community in 2013.
Mary Elizabeth Yundt Kilbourn Rev. Mary K. Kilbourn-Huey
They had three children. Major Ernest Timothy “Tim” Slusher, USAF, Ret. and his wife Pilar are now in Pensacola, Florida. After the Air Force, Tim taught high school science and then went on to become an aircraft mechanic and aircraft maintenance inspector. Along with his wife, Tim is now working and ministering to their family there and helping his own family around the country. Pilar developed a special relationship with Mary, who she lovingly cared for after several of Mary’s hospitalizations and surgeries including during her final days. Dr. Tina Marye Slusher is now in Roseville, Minnesota, and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota where she is actively involved in global health both professionally and through missions. She is also a pediatric intensivist at Hennepin Healthcare. Dr. Ida L. Slusher is now in Nicholasville, Kentucky, and a professor of nursing at Eastern Kentucky University. She is also involved in missions locally and globally. For many years Ida cared lovingly for both Mary and Ernest, devoting most of her free time to meeting their needs and helping them live active and full lives to the end. Mary was a faithful member of First Baptist Church in Pineville, Kentucky, for over 60 years and was under the watch care of Anchor Baptist Church at the time of her passing. She undergirded her husband throughout their marriage, providing much of the administrative support for the numerous organizations for which he was a leader, the working farm the family lived on and, working briefly, at Arjay Elementary School. However, the most important job was raising her family. She enriched the lives of her family through their many trips and expanding her children’s horizons and preparing each of them for the work to which God called them. She passed on December 21, 2019, surrounded by family. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Fred Knapp LaMotte, Louise Tyson LaMotte, and Lida R. LaMotte; her husband, Ernest C. Slusher; sisters, Esther Field and Linda Ruth LaMotte; and brother, James LaMotte. She is survived by her three children and grandsons, Adrian Michael Slusher and Andrew McLaurin Slusher; her sister, Dorcas LaMotte Townsley (husband Jesse); and numerous nieces and nephews.
Jackie Chapman Ms. Karen Watt Sylvia Leatherwood Enriquez Ms. Harriet J Palmer Leonard Lynn Hood Ms. Edith E. Anderson Jane H. Hope Mr. and Mrs. Bruce and Barbara Haldeman
Robert Lawrence Mrs. Fran Keene Molly Lee Ms. Harriet J. Palmer John Robert Longfellow Mr. and Mrs. Stephen and Linda Longstreth Gertrude and Ed Longstreth Mr. and Mrs. Stephen and Linda Longstreth George H. Mead, Jr. Mrs. Marianna Mead O’Brien Janet Mirtschin Mr. and Mrs. John Albert Priebe Patricia Nachowicz Dr. and Mrs. Gregory Gutgsell Mary Wilson Neel Mr. David B. Karrick Jr. Judy and Newt Stammer Ms. Suzie Lou Stammer Larry Stone Dr. Susan Stone Jane Cheever Talbot Mr. Peter H. Talbot Mary E. Weaver Ms. Sally Siebert Ruth and Ernie Wright Mr. and Mrs. Stephen and Linda Longstreth
Frontier Nursing University • Quarterly Bulletin 23
