1949
John
2016
John Sladden
March 11, 1949 — August 5, 2016
John Sladden 03/11/1949—08/05/2016
Three short years after release from active duty following the conclusion of the war, Maxwell Basil Sladden and his wife of seven years, Verna Frances Sladden (née Marston), gave birth to their first of three children, John Marston Sladden, in Murray Bridge, South Australia and soon after moved to Tailem Bend where the young family opened their own grocery business. In late 1955, the family, now having accrued their second of three, Frances Irene Sladden, moved to Adelaide, South Australia following the closure of the family grocery business. The family purchased a new home in Kilkenny where they would complete the family in 1957 with Kym Marston Sladden.
John went to primary school at Challa Gardens and high school at Woodville High School. His favorite subject in school was English. He excelled so greatly in the subject that he became a prefect in his final two years of school. John spent a lot of time writing stories and reading. Literature was his passion. He also played tennis competitively during high school, having been coached by his father from a young age. After school, John went to work in the Savings Bank of South Australia. He met his first wife, Viola Catherine Haynes, during this time. Viola was the daughter of an American oilman, the family having moved with the father to Adelaide while stationed there in the early 70s. In 1973, John moved with Viola and her family back to the U.S. to their home state of Texas. John and Viola had two children together, William Norman Sladden and Catherine Ann Sladden. In the early 1980s, John moved from his new home in the U.S. in Houston, Texas to the Dallas/Fort Worth area where he later married his second wife, Christa Coletti, in 1984. John and Christa had two children together, Nicholas John Sladden and Julia Marie Sladden.
John’s love for literature was foundational. As an infant, while still living in Tailem Bend, John was once asked what gift he would like his mother to purchase for him on a visit to the city. He requested a Winnie-the-Pooh book. As a young adult, he had a short story published in a magazine and even produced his own magazine for a short time in his teenage years. After many years in the corporate finance world, fed up with its bureaucracies and headaches, John would open his own book business in 1989. John Marston’s Bookshop sold rare and quality used and collectable books to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The shop boasted a store-front in Arlington, Texas for over 10 years until the advent of internet sales through which his shop was one of the first to conduct business. In 2000, the shop became a purely online business. The book business remained a core passion for the remainder of his life.
In 1998, John was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He was in the final stages of the cancer. He miraculously survived through various radiation and chemotherapy treatments as well as a stem-cell transplant. These treatments gave him an extra sixteen years on this earth. Unfortunately, they also brought forth numerous other ailments and illnesses, the most recent of which would be heart and kidney failure, to which he would finally succumb.
There are many things that can be said about John: his stalwart character, his affinity for personal space (he was not one for crowds), his intellect and aptitude. However, what most will remember was his resilience and fortitude. As many friends and family have remarked over the years, but especially so in these final ones, “he was one tough cookie”.
John is survived by his wife, Christa Coletti Sladden; sister, Frances Irene Crooks, and brother, Kym Marston Sladden; children, William Norman Sladden, Catherine Ann Sladden, Nicholas John Sladden, and Julia Marie Sladden.
P.S. John’s childhood adoration for A. A. Milne’s original Winnie-the-Pooh stories remained throughout his life. To this day, a collection of rare editions of the first four volumes vigilantly sits in his personal library.
Memorial contributions may be sent to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (at: https://donate.lls.org/lls/donate ) or to the National Kidney Foundation (at: https://www.kidney.org/support ).
Three short years after release from active duty following the conclusion of the war, Maxwell Basil Sladden and his wife of seven years, Verna Frances Sladden (née Marston), gave birth to their first of three children, John Marston Sladden, in Murray Bridge, South Australia and soon after moved to Tailem Bend where the young family opened their own grocery business. In late 1955, the family, now having accrued their second of three, Frances Irene Sladden, moved to Adelaide, South Australia following the closure of the family grocery business. The family purchased a new home in Kilkenny where they would complete the family in 1957 with Kym Marston Sladden.
John went to primary school at Challa Gardens and high school at Woodville High School. His favorite subject in school was English. He excelled so greatly in the subject that he became a prefect in his final two years of school. John spent a lot of time writing stories and reading. Literature was his passion. He also played tennis competitively during high school, having been coached by his father from a young age. After school, John went to work in the Savings Bank of South Australia. He met his first wife, Viola Catherine Haynes, during this time. Viola was the daughter of an American oilman, the family having moved with the father to Adelaide while stationed there in the early 70s. In 1973, John moved with Viola and her family back to the U.S. to their home state of Texas. John and Viola had two children together, William Norman Sladden and Catherine Ann Sladden. In the early 1980s, John moved from his new home in the U.S. in Houston, Texas to the Dallas/Fort Worth area where he later married his second wife, Christa Coletti, in 1984. John and Christa had two children together, Nicholas John Sladden and Julia Marie Sladden.
John’s love for literature was foundational. As an infant, while still living in Tailem Bend, John was once asked what gift he would like his mother to purchase for him on a visit to the city. He requested a Winnie-the-Pooh book. As a young adult, he had a short story published in a magazine and even produced his own magazine for a short time in his teenage years. After many years in the corporate finance world, fed up with its bureaucracies and headaches, John would open his own book business in 1989. John Marston’s Bookshop sold rare and quality used and collectable books to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The shop boasted a store-front in Arlington, Texas for over 10 years until the advent of internet sales through which his shop was one of the first to conduct business. In 2000, the shop became a purely online business. The book business remained a core passion for the remainder of his life.
In 1998, John was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He was in the final stages of the cancer. He miraculously survived through various radiation and chemotherapy treatments as well as a stem-cell transplant. These treatments gave him an extra sixteen years on this earth. Unfortunately, they also brought forth numerous other ailments and illnesses, the most recent of which would be heart and kidney failure, to which he would finally succumb.
There are many things that can be said about John: his stalwart character, his affinity for personal space (he was not one for crowds), his intellect and aptitude. However, what most will remember was his resilience and fortitude. As many friends and family have remarked over the years, but especially so in these final ones, “he was one tough cookie”.
John is survived by his wife, Christa Coletti Sladden; sister, Frances Irene Crooks, and brother, Kym Marston Sladden; children, William Norman Sladden, Catherine Ann Sladden, Nicholas John Sladden, and Julia Marie Sladden.
P.S. John’s childhood adoration for A. A. Milne’s original Winnie-the-Pooh stories remained throughout his life. To this day, a collection of rare editions of the first four volumes vigilantly sits in his personal library.
Memorial contributions may be sent to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (at: https://donate.lls.org/lls/donate ) or to the National Kidney Foundation (at: https://www.kidney.org/support ).
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John Sladden, please visit our flower store.
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