Richard (Dick) Keith Slayton, age 92 of Oro Valley, passed away in his sleep on March 28th, 2025, at All Seasons of Oro Valley in Arizona. Dick was born April 9, 1933, in Sparta, Wisconsin, to Charlie and Victoria Slayton. After serving as a Naval radioman, Dick went to San Jose State University in Northern California on the GI Bill. After graduation, he met his wife Beverly while living in Southern California and married her at the Church of the Wayfarer in Carmel CA, and they then settled into living in Newport Beach CA where they welcomed their only child Derek.
A man of many talents, Dick worked as a farmer, a salesman, and finally as an aerospace sales leader at Honeywell. He was passionate about sports cars and had many of them over his life. He was also a private pilot and enjoyed being a partial owner of a plane in Freeport with several friends. After retiring from Honeywell in San Jose CA, Dick and Bev moved to Santa Cruz, CA to enjoy their retirement as empty nesters. This is where he lost Bev to a recurrence of cancer. Dick then began to explore the world, and enjoyed many adventures to China, Australia, and other exotic locations with Derek and friends. Dick became an artist in his own right in retirement, dabbling in woodwork, metal work, and a variety of other disciplines. Dick made many friends in Aptos, including his “wingman” Ace (his pet dog) – who was a constant source of joy for him including traveling the country as his companion. Dick was passionate about his brother Deke’s legacy as an Air Force pilot / NASA astronaut, and he established several scholarships to support STEM efforts to encourage the next generation to pursue aviation and space travel. He is survived by his son Derek.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at the El Conquistador Tucson in Tucson, Arizona - please RSVP to dick.slayton.memorial@pm.me.
In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family requests donations be made to the Deke Slayton Space Museum, Sparta, WI
