Harold Franklin Sledge

Left to cherish his memory are his son, Kyle Franklin Sledge of Fayetteville, NC; his brothers, Andrew Clayton Sledge, III and wife Mary Ann of Laurinburg, NC and Jim Sledge and wife Pam of Germantown, MD; his might as well be sisters, Glynda Trogdon Haley of Garner, NC and Cathy Trogdon Smith and husband Robert of Lexington, NC; his nephews, Andrew Sledge and Christopher Sledge and his wife Sheree and their daughter Alana; and his nieces, Jennifer Sledge and Amanda Sledge and her son Tristan.

He was preceded in his passing by his parents, Andrew Clayton Sledge, Jr. and Adelaide Bledsoe Sledge and his other parents George and Dokie Trogdon.

Harold was born in Frankfurt, Germany September 25, 1953. He was a kid with a great appetite for the sweeter things in life especially when around his second parents George and Dokie Trogdon. He graduated from Reid Ross High School in Fayetteville in 1971. He attended Western Carolina University for a short time before enlisting in the United States Army. In the Army he was a military policeman as a primary MOS and was selected right out of his training to serve with the Executive Flight detachment on Army One under Presidents Nixon and Ford. He spent time as a recruiter and enjoyed his several deployments to Europe. After retiring from the Army, he spent time working for Quik Stop USA and Cingular Wireless before finding his next career with the Cumberland County Public Library System from which he retired a second time with seventeen years of service. While he was with the Library System, he fostered his love of reading and touched countless numbers of people and influenced their lives with his warm smile, endearing personality and friendship. There were so many coworkers he had the pleasure of working with that were like family and became true friends with whom a mutual love was shared.

To know him was to love him. He was a friend to all he met and while he could be quiet and reserved he would show you his heart and share with you his thoughts, his wit, charm and knowledge which was widespread and engaging. He had many passions and was serious about many of them. The first of which was reading. He could be found with a book in his hand and was just as content whether sitting in the car waiting, on break at work, sitting in his favorite chair or even just sitting at the beach listening to the waves crashing in the distance. He enjoyed trivia and quiz shows. Whether it was sitting around with a box of Trivial Pursuit cards or watching any of the numerous quiz shows on TV but his favorite was JEOPARDY which he loved so much so he would tape every episode to ensure that he did not miss it and was up to date on who the current champion was! He enjoyed sports of any kind. This ranged from NASCAR, golf, tennis, football, baseball, and he especially enjoyed the Olympics. Though as much as he may have enjoyed watching the Redskins or the Panthers play both of whom he would sing the Victory Song of Hail to the Redskins with every touchdown, often inserting Panthers and yes there were cats on the warpath who fought for old NC, nothing could compare to the to his love of NCAA college basketball and his Carolina Tar Heels! Anybody but Duke was a common phrase when discussing his love of his favorite team. He had many accomplishments in life and enjoyed so many things but his proudest by far was his son/buddyro Kyle. He was the best dad a son could ever ask for and was always there to support him right, wrong or indifferent. If there was anything he could do or any way he could support him he would do it in a heartbeat and always did until the day he died.

Harold fought a long and tough battle with cancer. Starting as lung cancer, which spread to his brain and finally to his spine. He never once complained or showed his pain. He was always concerned more for others than himself. Even in his last days asking if there was anything he could do to help. The family would like to give special thanks and express our appreciation for the teams and staff of the UNC Cancer Hospital especially recognizing Dr. Carrie Lee, Amanda Maddry and Dr. Kyle Wang. Your care, skill and compassion to Harold and our family will never be forgotten. We would also like to recognize the staff of 3HC home health and hospice. From the initial physical therapists, nurse’s aides, and social workers all were angels who gave him dignity and respect and who we could never thank enough for allowing us to share this great man and entrust to you the care of our Harold.

A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, October 2, 2021, in the Reeves Funeral Home Chapel of Hope Mills, NC at 11:00 a.m.