Please use the form below to make contributions
in Irene’s memory to
The Dr. Roy and Irene Sloat Endowment Fund.
On Sunday, March 27, 2022, Irene Goldin Sloat passed away at the age of 95, our second Forever Lion to pass in Northeast Florida. Irene is survived by her daughters Lisa Sloat (Hank Klein) of Miami, FL and Lauren Sloat, of Waltham, MA, and many nieces and nephews who she enjoyed. She was preceded in death by her loving and devoted husband of 56 years, Dr. Roy Julius Sloat, and adored older brother, Dr. Jerry Goldin of New York.
Irene was born in the Astoria section of Queens, NY to Nathan and Rae Goldin, immigrants from Russia who owned a 24/7 convenience store at the bottom of an elevated train station. The taxi drivers who lined up in front of the store would take Irene to school if she was late, as well as taught her to drive. Her parents saved up to send her to summer camp every year where she excelled in sports and theater productions. Irene was an excellent student. Knowing that she would get a far superior education at Julia Richmond High School in Manhattan than in her neighborhood school, unbeknownst to her parents, she took the entrance exam and told her parents only after she was accepted.
After graduating from New York University, Irene took a trip south to visit her Kipnis aunt and uncle in Jacksonville where she met her future husband. Irene’s first impression of Roy was that he was a bit conceited, but just like in a rom-com movie, she was soon won over by his charm, intelligence, and sense of humor. They married a mere five months after they met and enjoyed a long and happy marriage with many fun and laugh-filled times among family and friends. They shared numerous interests in common including golf, travel, entertaining, creating mosaics, taking dance lessons, golfing trips with other couples, their stock group, playing bridge, taking in a Broadway play and giving one another surprise birthday parties. Irene was an excellent golfer, and had many trophies to show for her tournament successes, including those for her 3 holes-in-one.
"We are proud of the institutions that have been started and promoted by the leadership in the Jacksonville Jewish community. Inspired by the example of our parents, Rae and Nathan Goldin and Rose and Joseph Sloat, my wife, Irene, and I have established a fund that upon our demise will support in perpetuity the same Jewish institutions that we supported while living. This fund will be administered by the Jacksonville Jewish Foundation. Someday, when and if people read our story in the Book of Life, we hope they will remember us as having lived with honor, dignity and reflected positively on the Jewish community.”
- Quote from the Book of Life
Chief among Irene and Roy’s common interests was their dedication to the Jacksonville Jewish community and support of the organizations that sustained it. Irene embodied every attribute of the Forever Lion: compassion, strength, leadership, and a deep commitment to the Jewish community. Together, Irene and Roy were engaged and active members of the Jewish community serving as founding board members of the Jewish Foundation and Irene’s husband serving as a member of the Investment Oversight Committee. Roy and Irene established the first endowment fund of the Jacksonville Jewish Foundation and were also one of the first to inscribe the Book of Life. While Irene volunteered with several local Jewish agencies, her most active participation was with River Garden Hebrew Home for the Aged where she served as President of the board of the River Garden Auxiliary, providing support to River Garden through financial contributions and hundreds of volunteer hours. She also served as an ombudsman between River Garden’s residents and staff, where her knowledge of Yiddish was put to good use when language was a barrier to communication between these two groups. Irene valued a good read, stimulating conversation, a visit to a museum, a night at the symphony and her independence. Irene and Roy will fondly be remembered by many in the Jacksonville Jewish community as true tzaddiks and friends.
Irene’s daughters, Lauren and Lisa, described her as “her authentic self and a hard act to follow.” They said she was also fiercely independent and credit the oustanding care and attention she received from the Home Health group for allowing allowed her to live out her life in her own apartment exactly as she desired. They are eternally grateful to The Home Health group, along with the staff of the Coves, for their support in ensuring that their mother’s last years were the best that they could be.
