Jeffrey ‘Jeff’ O. Sledge Nov. 18, 1955 – Jan. 1, 2022
Jeffrey “Jeff” O. Sledge was born Nov. 18, 1955 and passed away from a cardiac arrest on Jan. 1, 2022. Jeff was a resident of Springfield and had lived in Lane County a large part of his life. He was born to Gus and Patricia (Garratt) Sledge at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene. He was the youngest of four children. Jeff grew up on the family farm outside of Creswell.
Jeff attended the Creswell schools and graduated in 1973. Jeff belonged to the Creswell 4-H Club. He showed his sheep at the Lane County 4-H fair for several years. He played basketball all four years of high school. The team won three district titles and went to state three times. Jeff played on the Oregon State varsity team for two years. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science in psychology in 1977.
Jeff worked for the Youth Authority for 30 years. He retired in 2009.
During the summers he picked beans and did odd jobs for neighbors; he worked at Hollamen’s Service Station his senior year.
He started working for the Oregon Youth Authority at Skipworth (now Subu) in 1978. He retired from MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility as director of operations. He loved riding his motorcycle, working in his garden, reading books, and listening to music. He served as an Elder at the Hope Community Church in Springfield. He was also the church handyman. Jeff was always willing to help regardless of the problem.
Jeff leaves behind his wife Julie Jankowski Sledge and his stepson Trevor Jankowski; his children from a previous marriage to Sandi Radke, Amber Rose Loving (Sledge) and Robert James Sledge; his grandchildren Ella Loving, Olivia and Maci Sledge; his siblings Chris Gardner-Hawk (Sledge) Patrick and David Sledge; and his nieces SarahJane Gardner, Hannah Burgess (Sledge), Kristen Sledge, and Kaitlyn Sledge.
Services were held at Hope Community Church in Springfield.
