John Slavko

After almost 100 years in the Detroit area, John Slavko, the founder of the nationally recognized bowling alley resurfacing company, John Slavko Inc., died on Friday, September 14, 2018. He was 99 years and 11 months old. His daughter, Jackie, said he passed peacefully, in his sleep. Born on October 14, 1918, in a Detroit home on Lodi Street that was later leveled in the construction of I-94, John grew up on the boarder of Detroit and Hamtramck on Selkirk Street. His early years were spent at the Dodge Community House playing sports and participating in other activities. In his later years he would speak in reverence of the minister who ran the house, thankful for the friendships and joys he had there. In 1930, a year into the Great Depression, Johns parents, immigrants from the now Slovak Republic, pulled John out of school and sent him to work to help the family. His father, who repaired and resurfaced bowling lanes by hand, set young John up with jobs as a pin boy in speakeasies and blind pigs around prohibition era Detroit. Here he rubbed shoulders with members of the Purple Gang and shot dice with the Jazz musicians in his downtime. Along with his older brother Emil, John also helped his father on the bowling lanes. They would manually cross plan the alleys, and apply shellac with paintbrushes. John, a south paw, would coat the left half of the lane, his brother the right. It was during these years that John learned the business that he would one day make a name in. In the late 30s, John began working for Chrysler automotive where he participated in the 1937 sit-down strike at Dodge Main which lasted seventeen days. During those tough March weeks, John became something of a welcome sight to his coworkers as he glided through the factory on his roller skates delivering letters that had been handed in through the windows. When the opportunity to drive a truck for Chrysler arose at the end of the 30s, John jumped at the chance. Never one to sit still long, the freedom of the road was a welcome change from the factory floor. With the outbreak of World War II, Johns job meant he was classified as essential personnel. One of the places on his route was the recently renovated Lynch Road plant, a place he always said he hated because it smelled like a chrome shop, all acids and chemicals. In later year, after once being questioned by the FBI about using the bathroom at the plant, it was revealed that Lynch Road was a hard water plant producing uranium for the Manhattan Project. In 1940, two events changed the course of Johns life, he started his own bowling alley resurfacing company, originally only running during the summer model changeover shutdown at Chrysler, and married Elizabeth (Betty) McInnes on October 12, 1940. Together they would have three daughters, Bette Diane Nelson, Janet Knight, and Jackie Kalogerakos. In his later years he adopted Suellen Carrier as a fourth daughter. 1944 started with a dustup between John and his boss that led to him quitting Chrysler and joining the army. But because of an old hockey injury to his knee sustained at the Dodge Community House, John spent the war in Texas and the only scar he returned home with was a tattoo. After the war, John devoted himself to his family and building his business. He also built a house on Kenmore in Grosse Pointe Woods for him and his growing family. Professionally, John was a charter member of the National Association of Independent Resurfacers (NAIR). There was not a bowling center in metro Detroit that didnt, at one time or another, have his companys stamp on it. He also worked part-time managing the bowling lanes at the Country Club of Detroit which gave him the chance to work with the children of the members, teaching them to bowl. But for all of that, there were two things he bragged most about from his 40 plus year career. The first was helping build Paradise Lanes, the first black owned bowling center in the Detroit Area. He loved to tell how he and the owner, then heavy weight champ Joe Louis, tested the lanes by bowling a few games. The second was his work at Wurms Recreation at Gratiot and Sheridan. While he was in charge of the lanes, the women bowlerettes set a national record in scoring. For all of his professional success, his proudest accomplishment was being able to provide college educations for all three of his daughters, something that was denied to him. The example he set constantly reading biographies and non-fiction, inspired his girls to follow his example and make learning a lifelong pursuit. After retiring in the early 80s, John and Betty spent their time traveling. They made numerous trips to Scotland. They also often visited California and New York to see his daughters, Diane and Janet. These road trips always followed a different route, allowing John and Betty the chance to see America. Under the watchful eye of his daughter Jackie and son-in-law Harry, John spent his later years at the AmVets Post 57, where his buddy, Sherry Orr, reserved his spot at the bar every afternoon. When he wasnt sitting at the bar, John could be found at home, sitting on the floor converting music from every format but Edison Cylinders into digital files, and making bootleg CDs for everyone he came across. One of his grandsons estimates that 80% of all bootleg CDs in the area over the last five years came form John Slavko. John is survived by his four daughters, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, all of whom learned that to have a life like his you cant be looking behind you.. Family will receive friends on Monday from 4-8 PM and Tuesday from 1-8 PM at the A. H. Peters Funeral Home, 20705 Mack Ave at Vernier Rd, Grosse Pointe Woods 48236. A funeral service will be held Wednesday at 12:00 Noon at the funeral home. Interment Cadillac Memorial gardens east, Clinton Township, MI. Memorial contributions in John's memory may be made the AMVETS, POST 57, 19730 Harper Ave, Harper Woods, 48225. ahpeters.com

Funeral Home:

A. H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe

20705 Mack Avenue

Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

US 48236