John Austin Sletten, 72, of Lansdale, PA passed from this life Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 in Harrisburg, PA. John is with his Heavenly Father now, but he will be remembered with a graveside service of interment at Sunset Memorial Cemetery in Montevideo, MN at 9:30, Sept. 22, 2016. A Celebration of Life and Service of Thanksgiving will follow this for the years he shared with his family and friends at 11:00 at Our Saviors Lutheran Church. Lunch will follow.
John was born in Wilmington, DE while his father served in the Army, but his family returned to the family home in Montevideo after the war where he grew up and attended Sibley Grade School and Alexander Ramsey. John graduated from Central High School in Montevideo in 1962 where he was an avid sportsman. He was part of the football team that won the West Central Conference championship in 1960. He graduated from Concordia Moorhead in 1966 with degrees in accounting and psychology. John continued to play football at Concordia and was a member of the 1964 NAIA National Championship football team. Later he completed an MBA at Syracuse University.
In 1964 he married (and later divorced) Barb Handeland with whom he had two children, Chad and Kelly. He later married Ellen Focht and fathered three children, Joe, Dan and Chris. Her untimely death at thirty-nine left him a single father until he met and married Kathy (nee Kittelson) in 1991. As she was also born and raised in Montevideo, it felt like he had come full circle to his roots. In July, 2016 they celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
John had multiple careers in banking, justice and public accounting. In his later years he became a serious writer and published six novels. He loved watching Phillies baseball and Vikings football. Music was a big part of his life and he always had his guitar handy. He was generous of spirit and had a truly wicked sense of humor.
He is survived by his wife, Kathy; his daughter, Kelly; sons Chad, Joe, Dan (and wife Nikki) and Chris (and wife Caroline); and 2 grandsons; Ethan and Joey; siblings; Chrissy (and husband Rick) Leigh and Rick Sletten as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.
Preceding him in death were his parents, Warren and Idamarie and his wife Ellen.