Manufacturer John Franklin Slagle dies

John Franklin Slagle, retired Shell and Tube Inc. owner, died Friday. He was 82.

Services are pending with Freeman Harris Funeral Home. Slagle was born Sept. 27, 1925, in Barnsdall to Ruth E. and Dennis Slagle. He graduated from Barnsdall High School in 1947. He served in the Navy during World War II on the USS Appling. He attended Texas A&M University during his enlistment. After his discharge, he attended Oklahoma A&M Technical College for two years, traveling between Tulsa and Okmulgee by motorcycle every day. He studied piping drafting. He went to work for Joseph A. Coy Co. after receiving his draftsman certificate. He later worked for Birmingham Steel Corp. and Industrial Fabricating. He started Slagle Manufacturing Co. in 1965. While there, he co-designed and built the first rod baffle exchanger for Phillips Petroleum Co. He sold the company in 1978. In 1988, he purchased Shell and Tube Inc. He sold the company in May, but he remained actively involved until the time of his death. Slagle was a member of South Lakewood Baptist Church. He was a former member of Tulsa Country Club, Meadowbrook Country Club and the Petroleum Club of Tulsa. He was a member of the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturing Association. He is survived by his wife, Pat Slagle; two children, Rodney Slagle and Shelly Davis, both of Tulsa; three sisters, Genevia Harroun of Galt, Calif., Anna Chainey of Tulsa and Jean Willmes of Campbell, Calif.; three brothers, Gerald Slagle and Harold Slagle, both of Tulsa, and Al Slagle of Albuquerque, N.M.; and two granddaughters. Friends are making memorial contributions to the American Cancer Society.