Evelyn Marie (Sloat) Piper, 96, of Ripley, MD died quietly on October 28, 2019 at the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata, MD. Shelia Cole, her friend and senior companion was by her side. Evelyn was born July 2, 1923 to the late Bernice (Foster) and Edward Sloat of Baltimore, MD. She was the eldest of their six children.
Evelyn and Fred were married in 1941 in Baltimore, MD. Evelyn joined her husband in various state-side locations during his service with the Marine Corps. Evelyn and Fred moved to Charles County in the 1950s and made their family home in Ripley, MD, where Evelyn has been a resident for over 70 years. During her younger years, she was active in her husband’s home improvement business and raising their children, caring for animals, tending gardens and preserving the garden’s bounty. She enjoyed having her nephews and younger siblings from Baltimore visit the family’s “farmette” during the summers – enjoying the country life away from the city.
For 26 years, Evelyn worked at Walls Bakery in Waldorf, MD when it was located in the “Wigwam” on Rt. 301. She took pride in her family members and loved hearing about the events and happenings in their lives. She enjoyed “yard saleing”, chocolate, her special iced tea recipe, her cat “Sweetie”, and planting and caring for flowers of all varieties.
In her later years, having lost her eye sight to Macular Degeneration, Evelyn’s greatest pleasure was to sit on her porch-swing surrounded by the fragrant blooms of her flowers and listen to the birds singing.
Evelyn was a sweet, gentle, caring, giving, and loving woman, but also a strong woman, who weathered the difficult challenges presented during her life with tenacity. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Evelyn is survived by her children: John F. Piper and wife, Jane of Willards, MD, Ronald “Ronnie” Piper and wife Sharon of Waldorf, MD, Nancy C. Moose and husband Joseph “Joe” of Newburg, MD. She is also survived by Thomas “Tommy” Jenifer, who she lovingly considered a son and his wife, Nan of Pomfret, MD; Sheila Cole, a special friend, confidant and her senior companion for 5 years who Evelyn thought of as a daughter; and her daughter-in-law, Gwynette Piper of Prince Frederick, MD; three grandchildren: Tiffany Piper, Dale Piper, and Beverly Guilkerson; five step-grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Evelyn is survived by her siblings: James “Jim” Sloat of Ocala, FL, Shirley Henry and husband Bill of Shrewsbury, PA, Betty Gaither and husband Bob of Parkville, MD, and Donald “Donnie” Sloat and wife Mary of Towson, MD. She is also survived by numerous extended family members and friends.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her husband, Fritz “Fred” Piper; her parents, Bernice and Edward Sloat of Baltimore, MD; her sister, Lorraine Keiter and husband Phil of Dundalk, MD; her brother, Robert “Bobbie” Sloat of Baltimore, MD; and her grandson, Joseph “Joey” Moose, Jr. of Cary, NC.
Visitation will be Tuesday, November 5, 2019 from 11:30AM to 1PM at Raymond Funeral Chapel (5635 Washington Ave., La Plata, MD 20646). A memorial service will immediately follow at the funeral home.
Interment will follow at 2PM at Trinity Memorial Gardens (3221 Mattawoman Beantown Rd., Waldorf, MD 20601).
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Evelyn’s name to be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital (262 Danny Thomas Pl., Memphis, TN 38105 – https://www.stjude.org/ )
