Sherman Emil Sloan died of heart failure at his home on July 23, 2016. Cremation has taken place. A family gathering will be held at St. Vincent's Catholic Church in Mott on Sunday, July 31 at 7:00 p.m. and the Funeral Mass on August 1 at 10:30 a.m with Fr. Charles Zins, officiating.

Sherman Emil Sloan was born in Mott, ND on February 16, 1938 to Blanche (Svihovec) and Alfred M. (Buddy) Sloan. Alfred died several months previously in an accident on the Oregon coast where they had been working, due to hard times and the depression in North Dakota. Two years later, Blanche married Alfred's brother, Elmer, the only father Sherman had ever known.

When Sherman was four and his older brother, Cedric Alfred, was eight, a baby sister, Barbara Patricia (Pat) joined the family. They moved to the Haynes area where Sherman spent his formative years. In 1952 the family moved to a farm north of Mott where he graduated from Mott Lincoln High School in 1956. In 1957 he married his high school sweetheart, Geno Mehrer. They spent one year in Mott, then moved to Fargo where Sherman attended North Dakota Agricultural College (NDSU) for a time. He worked in sales with Nabisco for seven years while the family lived in Lemmon, SD, owned the Sloan Fairway store in Mott for three years, then more sales work in West Fargo. The family was completed with four sons, Steve, Brian, Michael, Kevin, and a daughter, Victoria.

During those early years, he enjoyed camping with the family, hunting and fishing, and was an excellent carpenter, building furniture and remodeling their various family homes.

Sherman found a lifetime career in 1972 when he was hired as a carpenter by Morrison-Knudsen, a global industrial construction firm that was involved in major projects. He worked his way up the ladder to project manager on a number of sites. His jobs included building coal recovery plants in Montana, Wyoming and Colombia, South America – also Boeing aircraft plants, nuclear power plants, and General Motors plants in Washington, Tennessee and Mexico.

He was firm with his workers, but fair. He never asked them to do a job that he wouldn't do himself, and his best times on the job were when he was able to be out in the field with his crews, rather than in the office dealing with endless necessary meetings.

Wherever they were sent on a job, the Sloan family enjoyed their surroundings. They took in the culture and history of each area, but always compared them to his beloved North Dakota prairies.

Upon retirement in Washington State, Sherman and Geno opted to move back to their roots in North Dakota and settled in Mott. They became involved in establishing a local museum in the old Methodist Church in 2004, then expanded and moved it to its present location downtown. He was active in St. Vincent's church, serving on the church board, and volunteering as an ecclesiastical minister for a number of years.


Sherman and Geno spent many winters in Arizona, California and Florida as Sherm hated the cold winters. They also loved traveling and made long and short trips to discover new and interesting places. He enjoyed gardening and woodwork, as well as reading, especially westerns and military stories. He will be missed for his old time stories, his wry sense of humor and his very definite opinions, which he willingly shared.

Surviving family members include his wife, Geno, Mott, ND; 4 sons and daughters-in-law, Steve and Penny Sloan, Mott, ND; Brian and Raynell Sloan, Lacey, WA; Michael and Lou Sloan, Olympia, WA, and Kevin Sloan, Richmond, CA; 1 daughter, Victoria Bayless, Bismarck, ND; 5 grandchildren, Weston and Hunter Sloan, Kristin and Emlie Bayless, and Aryc Moore; 1 sister and brother-in-law, Pat and Almore DeLaPointe, Hibbing, MN, 2 sisters-in-law, Leslie Sloan, West Fargo, ND; and Medora Moburg, Seattle, WA.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Cedric.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established to the Mott Good Samaritan Society and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com