Hartwell Kendrick “Ken” Sledge III, 91, died September 3, 2023, at his son Alan’s home in Mooresville, N.C.
He was born in 1932 in Charlotte, N.C., to Hartwell Kendrick Sledge Jr. and Mary Thacker Sledge. He graduated from Charlotte’s Central High School in 1950 and from North Carolina State in 1954 with a degree in electrical engineering. He served as a pilot in the Air Force from 1955 to 1958, and while stationed at Graham Air Force base in Mariana, Fla., met his future wife, Rosalind “Rose” Ward. He began working with Duke Power in 1958 where he remained until his retirement in 1988.
Ken was a lifelong Presbyterian who served as an elder, Sunday School teacher, choir member, volunteer, and more at churches in Spartanburg, Charlotte and Clinton, S.C., where he lived in his later years. He was also an aviation enthusiast who owned five airplanes over the course of his life.
In addition to his parents, Ken was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Rose Sledge; his son, Ronald Scott Sledge; his sister, Billie Sledge Erwin; and his brother, George Lawrence Sledge.
Ken is survived by his children, James Sledge (Shawn) of Falls Church, Va., Alan Sledge (LuAnne) of Mooresville, N.C., and Andrea Kepley (Joel) of Charlotte, N.C. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Kendrick Sledge Torbey (Ryan), Emma Sledge, Graham Sledge, Jordan Sledge, Cameron Sledge, Wes Kepley (Victoria), Clay Kepley (Kelly), and Trent Kepley (Nicolette); and his great-grandchildren Holton, Ethan, Brody, Ainsley, Avery, and Kinsley. In addition, he is survived by his sister, Mary Anne Sledge.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 9, at Steele Creek Presbyterian Church at Pleasant Hill, 15000 York Road, Charlotte, N.C.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to Habitat of Laurens County, 211 N. Broad Street, Clinton, SC 29325, where he volunteered for many years and Thornwell Home for Children, 302 S. Broad Street, Clinton, S.C., where he served as a Board Member.
Cavin-Cook Funeral Home & Crematory, Mooresville, is serving the Sledge family. Condolences may be made to the family at www.cavin-cook.com.