On Sunday, June 20, 2021, Marvin "Marty" Slugg, 75, lost his fight with cancer. He was surrounded by his loving, long-suffering wife and family.
Born in Baltimore Maryland, he was adopted by the babysitter and raised as the youngest of four. He left high school early and joined the US Navy. He was assigned to a submarine, which led to 2 years of ducking and folding his 6' 5" frame. He left the Navy and joined the Marines, which allowed him to stand up straight again. He would tell the story of being injured in Vietnam leading to the insertion of a steel plate in his head by introducing himself to others by banging it with his fist- his cornball humor was not limited to such actions.
He met his wife, Rena, at Portsmouth Naval Hospital. She started as a visitor and then began helping the volunteers with various tasks when her path crossed his. (That hospital admission was attributed to a different accident rather, than the one in which the skull plate was involved.) He was quite the charmer, and they married a few months later, directly after Rena's graduation. When he was recovered enough, (and released from the Marines due to his disability), they settled in Baltimore for the next several years. There he became a Police Officer with the Baltimore City Police. After the birth of his son and younger daughter, he left the police force and moved to Chesapeake, Virginia, where Rena grew up. He joined the post office, eventually becoming Postmaster. After his medical retirement from the postal service, he eventually became an investigator for a packaging/shipping company associated with the "men in brown".
Marty trusted the Lord and faithfully attended Grace Baptist Temple and served in many roles over the years. Throughout his life, he loved to sing and was incredibly talented; he used that talent in the choir and loved to belt out the low notes. Unfortunately, in his later years, he stepped further away from the church and God. His faith, however, was real and we are confident he is now sitting at the Savior's feet.
Becoming a grandfather was one of the greatest accomplishments of his life, and he was able to experience it from the beginning four times. This led him to move to Newport News to be closer to all the grandchildren, making his Saturday morning "pampakes" and sausage from McDonald's routine much easier.
He was preceded in death by his father Walter John Slugg, Sr., his mother, Catherine Shamburg, two sisters and one brother. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Rena Slugg, his oldest daughter Christine Hunter (Jeff), his son Walter "Jay" John Slugg III (Crystal Recoy), and his youngest daughter, Christina Yeater (Brian). His grandchildren include: "Herby", Corey, and Jordan; Justin, Kimberly and Serenity; and Chase, Macy, Grace and Stephanie. He touched many lives over the course of a lifetime, including several who named their children after him, and will be missed by most. Love you, Daddy.
A visitation will be held Friday, June 25, 2021 at 10:00 am in the Maranatha Baptist Church, Yorktown. A Funeral service will follow at 11:00. Burial with Military Honors will be held on Tuesday, June 29,2021 in the Albert G. Horton, Jr Memorial Veteran's Cemetery, Suffolk.
Arrangements by W J Smith & Son Funeral Home