Daywin Allison Slechta

Daywin (Day) Slechta was born June 6th, 1933 in Denison Iowa to parents Blaine and Hazel Slechta. He was second of five his siblings being Dale, Dean, Doyle and Delores.
His grandfather Slechta owned an icehouse and tavern in Deloitte as well as extensive land a portion of which was farmed by Blaine. Here day worked multiple demanding chores learning work ethics at a very young age. He always ran a trap-line in his later childhood.
He attended a one-room school; the only pupil being his siblings and a one other boy. His only playmates were his brothers since homes were few and far between. Even with all their work they found time for fun and mischief making.
The family moved to Cashmere, WA when Day was eleven. In high-school he became a star athlete excelling at running the 880 and the mile. His brother Dean recalls what a powerful kicker he was in football and that he once saw him kick a field goal from beyond the fifty yard line. He earned a football scholarship to Cheney College where he majored in mathematics.
While still in high-school, he worked at the Safeway to support his siblings. In those years he also worked the apple orchards; there were many jobs in the teens and early twenties including the position of metallurgist in the mines of Holden at age seventeen as well as solitary Lookout Tower watchman. He also worked in a flour mill and was tally-man for a lumber company.
After moving to the Seattle area he began night managing Safeway stores in his twenties at the same time building his own home from the ground up including the plumbing and electrical. In his first marriage he and Val produced five children; Ron, Jackie, Tom, Sandy and Dale. He advanced to supervisor of non-foods in a small but lucrative grocery chain, his main base being the Alderwood village Grocery Boy’s store. There he met and married his second wife Carol who was the love of his life for forty-five years. He helped her finish raising her teenage daughters Lottie and Joni; and adopted her baby Erin. She adored her Daddy, always at his side through the hardest of times and the feelings were mutual.
Day continued managing grocery stores until age forty when he developed an innovative plan for automotive accessories and oil in grocery, hardware and variety stores. The business became so lucrative that it was eventually absorbed by his supplier, Automotive Wholesalers, who in return put him in charge of the Ernst and Pay & Save accounts.
He moved later to American Strevel as marketing director, then entered into a partnership in a greeting card distributorship warehoused in Vancouver, WA and serving stores throughout Washington and Oregon. He later bought his partner out and moved operations to Federal Way where with his expertise and wife Carol’s abilities took the business to the largest in state.
Day later became a business consultant and then COO for a Chinese firm operating out of Redmond. When China closed operations Day took job as a comptroller for an electrical engineering company until his short-lived retirement in Port Orchard where he and Carol were living out what was to be the rest of his life.
He became restless and took up appraising, then took up selling real estate, where he climbed to the top percentile in the country before cardiac and peripheral artery disease cut him down. Never giving up, he managed to recover enough from all of his surgeries to go on working, changing from Prudential to Keller-Williams realty; working until the day he died at age eighty-one.
Day was an avid sportsman and outdoors man; he had enjoyed skiing, skating, fishing and hunting, especially bird-hunting with his amazing black Labrador retriever Lady.
He was the ultimate multitasker, whether it be in raising cattle, vegetable gardening, bee-keeping, or working with wood. He built his own shop where he spent many hours of his senior years in what he called “puttering”.
Day never ceased by word or action to let Carol know how he loved her or their peaceful life together. Happy to reminisce over their multiple travels to Europe, Victoria, New Orleans and the California coast and all their years together.
Day found much happiness in his many friendships, but his heart and soul were with his family. He is survived by his wife Carol, his children, his surviving step-daughter, his many grandchildren, great grandchildren his brother Dean and much extended family.
Day died of congestive heart failure January 24th, 2014 with loving family at his side. Those fortunate enough to have known him will recall his charisma, smiles, humor and charm. He viewed everyone he met as a potential friend. He was true to himself and to all that knew him. To quote one friend and co-worker, “What a loss. Day’s humor and kindness will be sorely missed in this world”.
A celebration of his life will be announced at a later date.