Emmy Lou Spanagel Slaughter

Born April 3, 1911 to Esma Louise Ferrall and George C. Spanagel, Emmy Lou Spanagel was the second of four daughters. Her sisters were Marion, Jane, and Polly. Her artistic talent was apparent from an early age, as she made her own paper dolls, drew caricature illustrations for the school yearbook, and joined the high school Art League. She attended Miami University (Ohio) for one year as an art major before accepting a full-time position at Halle’s Department Store, where she drew fashions and other advertisements for the Halle’s newspaper ads. She met her husband, Joseph Payne Slaughter, while working in downtown Canton, Ohio, and they wed on April 12, 1936.

While raising three children, John, George, and Jo Ann, Emmy Lou played a key role in developing her husband’s business “Joe Slaughter Menswear” by designing the store’s logo, arranging window displays, and even drawing impromptu sale signs during Joseph’s dinner breaks. Joseph regularly ran the store from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., so Emmy Lou maintained many of their household matters independently.

Emmy Lou’s artistic talent spanned many forms. Every year she created professional quality Christmas cards with color sketches and sometimes included linoleum block prints. Creative and resourceful, Emmy Lou was known to visit local fabric stores to glean ideas for clothing patterns, and then at home she would sketch the designs and recreate the outfits from memory. She designed and sewed nearly all of her daughter Jo Ann’s dresses. Throughout her children’s younger years, Emmy Lou was very active in their elementary school as a parent volunteer. Her artistic talents were used wisely, as she designed notices for school events including all of the PTA functions.

Emmy Lou was active as a floral designer in her local Garden Club, in which she won numerous blue ribbons for her arrangements. Also a skilled painter connected with the Canton Art Institute, she painted many still life arrangements and landscapes with oil and watercolor paints. Her most prized oil painting was a portrait of Jo Ann at age seven.

During Emmy Lou’s busy time raising a family, working part-time for her husband’s business, being involved with the PTA, painting, arranging flowers, sewing, etc., she always found time to be an active member of John Knox Presbyterian Church along with her husband who was an elder for the church. Along with teaching Sunday School children, she continued to use her talent by arranging altar arrangements every summer with flowers straight from the garden, and decorating the church inside and out for the holidays.

Above all, Emmy Lou is remembered as an extremely loving and compassionate person who was adored by her friends and family. Having been a very nurturing and giving mother and wife, the most difficult time in her life was being stricken with Alzheimer’s disease, around the early age of sixty. This led to her death in November of 1978, only one year after the birth of her second grandchild, Emilee Ione Thompson (daughter of Jo Ann and John Thompson). Even though Emmy Lou was unable to overcome the agonizing effects of Alzheimer’s, she was fortunate to have led a happy life surrounded by the love of her family and close friends. Her loved ones continue to cherish the memories and many beloved works of art that Emmy Lou Spanagel Slaughter created during her life.

Written by Emilee Coulter-Thompson and Jo Ann Thompson