Julia Daily Slaymaker
Julia was born January 13, 1942 in Lexington, Kentucky, to Henry and Grace Daily. Julia and her younger sister, Martha, attended Lexington schools including the University of Kentucky (UK). The family lived in a comfortable neighborhood close to the University where Henry taught. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from UK in 1964, Julia volunteered for Peace Corps service and was sent to Nigeria to teach in a private school for girls. This was one of the most important and memorable experiences in her life. She sponsored one of her Nigerian students to study in the U.S. and maintained close relationships with Nigerians in the U.S. and with former Peace Corps members.
Julia married a returned Peace Corps volunteer, Don Stosberg, in 1967. The newly married pair lived in Lexington until they bought a 19th century farm near Frankfurt, Kentucky. Julia and Don began a decades long project to restore and rebuild the onsite log house. During this time Julia and Don adopted two children, Stephen and Katherine, and later she birthed her son Mark. This period of their lives was filled with work and challenges such as creek flooding near their home and harsh winters in the 1970s. They lived in a barn trailer while they restored the log house. Despite the natural challenges of rural life, they were able to meet and make lifelong friends with people in the Frankfort area. Julia, who had obtained a Master’s degree in Geography from UK, began her educational career at Kentucky State University in Frankfort. Don and Julia eventually divorced in the 1980s.
At Midway College in Midway, Kentucky, Julia taught social science courses and also met her future husband, Bill Slaymaker, who taught English courses at Midway. Julia convinced Bill to buy a house in Frankfort and this move led to matrimony as they got to know each other and appreciate their common interests and shared values.
Bill was offered a job at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska. He accepted the offer and Julia helped him move there in 1989. Bill proposed, Julia accepted, and they were married in Kentucky in 1991. Julia moved to Wayne and found work with a local Nebraska Educational Service Unit (ESU) which helped her to certify as a teacher of the visually impaired. She completed the certification and drove the windy prairie roads to rural small town schools to help students with vision problems. She loved her job but hated winter weather in the northern Plains. After serving ESU for almost two decades she convinced Bill to find a warmer place, further south, closer to Kentucky, where they could both retire.
In 2008 they bought a house in Bloomington, Indiana where Bill had attended Indiana University graduate school. Julia retired and moved to Bloomington in 2012 and Bill joined her in 2014. Bloomington offered Julia what she had yearned for: milder climate, a cosmopolitan culture, and opportunities to do volunteer work for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the T.C Steele State Historic Site. The move allowed more frequent visits with her 10 grandchildren and she was able to relocate her sister, Martha, from Lexington to Bloomington in order to provide greater care and support. Also her son Mark and family relocated to the same neighborhood in Bloomington.
Julia had been a traveler during her life. In retirement she enjoyed many hiking and biking tours with Road Scholar. She also took many international trips with Bill to Nigeria, Turkey, England and Ireland, Australia, Russia, Sri Lanka, India, Poland, and Martinique. The Pandemic of 2020 curtailed her travels and then in 2021 pancreatic cancer made future travel plans impossible. She received an outpouring of sympathy cards, flowers, and visitations from her many friends. It was obvious she had touched many people in positive ways and had made loyal friends who felt connected to her no matter where they lived. She died July 20, 2021. The members of her religious community and the friends she had made in Bloomington during the nine years of residency celebrated her life as did her three surviving children and husband Bill, all of whom provided her comfort, compassion and love through home care until her death. Hospice supported her for the last five months of her life.
A green burial graveside service for Julia will be held Thursday, July 22, 2021 at 1:30 PM at White Oak Cemetery, 1200 West 7th Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47401.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.DayDeremiahFrye.com for the Slaymaker family.
