William Bartlett Sloan

On May 3rd, 2023 William Bartlett “Bill” “Butch” Sloan passed away peacefully wearing his beloved Boston Red Sox baseball hat. He is survived by his wife Joan whom he doted on, his 2 daughters Jennifer Dean and Ann Haynes who doted on him, his 3 grandchildren Anthony, Thomas and Erin who lovingly called him Pop Pop, and his favorite son-in-law, Matt Dean.

William was born on November 30th, 1938 in Plymouth, Massachusetts into a family of storytellers and jokesters – his two characteristics that will be missed the most. His family unit was his Father Wilfred, Mother Eva and older sister Virginia who predecease him. Williams’ Bartlett name goes all the way back to Robert Bartlett, one of the early colonists of Plymouth, something William talked about often. He was a long time member of the Robert Bartlett Society.

After graduating from Plymouth High School in 1956, William joined the Air Force where he served for 4 years and spent some of that time in France. William would talk extensively about the friends he made in the Air Force and the adventures they had.

Once he left the Air Force, William moved to Washington, DC and began working for the State Department in Communications. He often joked that if he told you what he did for a living he would have to kill you. What we do know is that William’s work had him travelling overseas to locations in Africa and Europe and he dedicated himself to the State Department until his retirement after 35 years of service.

Not too long after he moved to the D.C. area he met Joan Lepley. They were married on April 13th, 1968 and had just celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. After his retirement, William and Joan enjoyed traveling with family and friends. He credited Joan with keeping him in line. “Without her”, he would say, “I’d be nothing”.

William was blessed with two daughters, Jennifer Dean and Ann Haynes. Jennifer, his eldest daughter, shared with William a love of British murder shows, Monty Python (Tis but a scratch) and corny jokes. She will miss their long phone calls and updates on La Plata’s road construction projects. Ann, his youngest daughter, was devoted to Dad and he to her. She will miss just dropping by and watching Red Sox games or Maine Cabin Masters or having Sunday dinners at Texas Ribs. Even though he would complain about being surrounded by women (even the cats were females) we believe he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Lastly, his three grandchildren. Anthony Haynes, the first grandchild, was blessed to have Pop Pop be very active in his life. Anthony was like a son to him and Thomas shares not only a middle name with Pop Pop but a love for all things Washington Capitals and Red Sox. Then there is Erin, his favorite granddaughter, who also is a big Caps fan. Pop Pop would never fail to mention when he saw Virginia Tech on television because of Erin.

William will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday May 17, 2023 from 10 AM until service time at 12 noon at the Arehart-Echols Funeral Home (211 St. Mary’s Ave. LaPlata, MD 20646. Interment to follow in the Sacred Heart Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Online condolences may be shared with the family at arehartechols.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of William Bartlett Sloan, please visit our floral store.