Marlin A. Sloan

Mr. Marlin A. Sloan, Jr. passed away August 28, 2021 after an extended illness.

He was born December 23, 1930 in Catoosa County (Ringgold), GA to the late Marlin A. Sloan, Sr. and Jayme White. He was preceded in death by his parents, and a son, Christopher.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Joann, of Gainesville, GA; son Alex (Claire), also of Gainesville, his grandchildren Matthew Sloan (Heather) of Austin, TX; and Steven Sloan (Kathy) of Atlanta, GA., and great-grandson Micah, of Austin. He is also survived by his brother, Rial F. Sloan (Jan) of Tunnel Hill, GA; three nephews and their wives and children.

Marlin graduated from Ringgold HS in 1946 and served in the Air Force from 1949 – 1953. He took advantage of the GI Bill to attend Georgia Tech and graduated with Highest Honor in 1956 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He and Sara Joann Little met in Atlanta while he was attending Tech and she, having recently attained her RN, was working as a nurse at Georgia Baptist Hospital. They were married in Atlanta on June 11, 1954. Upon graduation he accepted a job with Hughes Aircraft Co. in Los Angeles, CA. They lived there until 1963 when he moved the family back to the south to Huntsville, AL. There he worked for the Northrop Corp. on projects with the Gemini and later Apollo space programs. After accepting a new job with Martin Marietta (later Lockheed Martin), he moved to Orlando, FL in 1981. He was involved with several defense related projects and in 1990 was named Engineer of the Year for his contribution to their development of the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars. He retired in 2000. He would love to talk about his good fortune to be a part of these monumental programs over his 44 year engineering career.

He was a lifelong Georgia Tech fan and longtime contributor to both the Roll Call academic fund and the Alexander-Tharpe athletic scholarship fund. One of his greatest prides was being blessed with the resources to contribute to the academic and athletic successes of others who chose to navigate the rigors of a Georgia Tech education. He loved his family, and made it a priority to attend annual family reunions, even when living several hundred miles away in Orlando. He would always take time to visit his many aunts, uncles and cousins when visiting his parents in the North Georgia area.

The family would like to offer special thanks to caregivers Sherry, Beejay, and others for their attentive care and support over the last 2 years.

The family plans to have a private service at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Lanier Christian Academy, 5285 Strickland Road, Flowery Branch, GA 30542.

Those wishing to send online condolences to the family may do so at littledavenport.com

Little & Davenport Funeral Home and Crematory, 355 Dawsonville Highway, SW, Gainesville, Georgia 30501 is in charge of arrangements.