John Peery Sloan, Jr., 86, died on November 19, 2014, at the Life Care Center of Crossville. John was born on Christmas Eve, 1927, in Jamestown, TN to John Peery Sloan, M.D., and Alice Louise Johnson.  John and his wife, Valeda Winningham Sloan, were high school sweet hearts at York Agricultural Institute High School in Jamestown and married in 1945.  John served in the Army Air Force from 1945 to 1947.  He attended Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (Tennessee Tech) and graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1950.

After graduating college, John and his wife moved to Houston, TX, where he began his career with Magcobar, a division of Dresser Industries.  John was a laboratory chemist and developed oil well drilling fluids.  During his 36 years with Dresser Industries, he became the Quality Control Engineer Manager for International Operations, developed two patents for oil well drilling fluids, and was an active member in the American Society for Quality and the Toastmasters.

John retired from Dresser Industries in 1986 and began a successful quality assurance consulting and laboratory testing company in Houston.  He also taught technical writing at Houston Community College.  In 2000, John and Valeda moved back to Tennessee on Lake Tansi.  John worked for H&R Block in Crossville for 10 years and became a senior tax advisor.  He retired at the age of 84.

John was an accomplished blue grass fiddler whose passion was pursuing the art of old-time Appalachian fiddling.  He played in numerous bands including a western dance band and several blue grass bands in both Houston and Crossville.  He taught bluegrass fiddle lessons at Houston Community College and the Crossville Senior Center.  He enjoyed playing at bluegrass festivals and local jam sessions in Crossville.

John was a devoted husband and father and is survived by his wife Valeda, his four children (Myra, John, Mary, and Amy), six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

In honor of his love of bluegrass music, the family welcomes friends to a bluegrass celebration of his life at the Thunderbird Center at Lake Tansi on Sunday, November 23, 2014, from 3 – 5pm.