SLATOR, Jr., William "Bill" Francis, 82, of St. Petersburg, Florida, passed away July 27, 2021 surrounded by his loving family. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He enlisted in the US Marines in 1957. Bill worked in customer service for Pan American Airlines at JFK Airport. He moved to Denver, CO in the early 70's and to Florida in 1982 where he and his wife, Linda opened their own travel agency, which is still in operation today.
He is preceded in death by his parents, William Francis Slator, Sr. and Mary Viola and brother, Richard.
He leaves behind his wife, Linda of 45 years; children, Pamela, Brian, Bill, Thomas, Gregory, Debbie and Mark; grandchildren, Ryan, Frank, Gregory, Dominic, Annie, Kelly, Devin, Drew, Dean and Angelena; sister, Susanne Boden and brother, Michael Slator and beloved nieces and nephews. Bill did want to thank his clients for their loyalty and friendship and wanted to say, "Bon Voyage, til we meet again!!"
Bill was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York the eldest of 4 , 2 brothers and 1 sister. He had a wonderful childhood where he was always out playing sports with his buddies. He played stickball and mostly basketball. He continued his love of sports into adulthood, where he coached basketball as a young man and eventually coached little league baseball in Florida. He also developed a love of golf when he moved to Florida. He had a great group of friends that he played with every week. They were like a second family to him. He was the “leader of the pack”. They all called him the funniest guy in the room.
Bill had a great business sense and prided himself on excellent customer service and treated his clients like family, always going above and beyond. He remembered everyone by name even if he hadn’t seen them in a long time.
He gave our family the most amazing travel experiences, we did wonderful family vacations. In particular his 80th Birthday Cruise to which we all attended. It was great!!!!
The last cruise he did was to the British Isles and included the British Open Golf tournament at Port Rush in Northern Ireland. He actually got to go to the final day which was an unforgettable experience for him. He truly enjoyed it.
Bill Slator was a wonderful man who enjoyed life to the fullest, he was a great Dad and Grandad. Most of all he was a loving and caring husband. He will truly be missed by all his family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
