Fain Slaughter, Jr.

May the record show… This is NOT an obituary…

This is a tall tale of a Georgia Sportsman.

Fain Slaughter “Jr.,” despite being an Athens Ga. native, was born in Decatur, Ga. in 1934. He took great pride in growing up on Milledge Cir. when the “Y” was on Lumpkin and The Varsity was on the corner of College & Broad. Fain grew up with a gun in his hand, hunting squirrels, rabbits, and quail… A trait he would sustain for 90 years.

Fain often reminisced about his summers spent at Athens “Y” Camp, and when he outgrew that, he played football for Weyman Sellers at Athens High School. Fain, along with his best friend, George Upchurch, opted to forego their last two quarters of high school and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in December of 1953. Missing deployment to Korea, Fain served stateside proudly until his honorable discharge and made his way back to Athens in time to join the University of Georgia football squad in 1956. While, nobody loved playing for Coach Wally Butts WHILE they were doing so, Fain forged many lasting friendships playing alongside his brother Billy Slaughter and cousins Wayne Dye & Nat Dye. One of those friendships was with assistant coach Quentin Lumpkin, the father of Jack, who was Fain’s classmate. Nobody knew it at the time, but Quentin and Fain became hunting buddies for the next 30 years.

1959 rolled around, and his two oldest, Bill & Valerie were needing provisions. Therefore, Fain traded in his football uniform for work clothes. He and his cousin Wayne opened Fain & Wayne’s Service Station on Oconee Street in Athens. Gasoline and motor oil were not all that flowed there, and with Athens legend James Whitehead on the payroll (albeit not the ledger), business was good.

Through the mid-sixties, Fain continued to develop his business acumen and develop his family. He and Sara welcomed Bo and Sally, and Fain joined Billy and their father at the Credit Bureau of Athens. The trio grew CBA and invested in various real estate endeavors in and around the Athens area. One such investment was the purchase of the retiring Schafer Dairy Farm on Belmont Rd, a portion of which became Fain’s home for all the years to come.

1968 brought new opportunities, and Fain founded Underground Utilities, Inc. and based his operations in the rapidly expanding Columbia County, GA on the outskirts of Augusta. While the bulk of his work kept him in the CSRA, he successfully fulfilled bids all across the southeast. The seventies kept Fain busy in business and recreation with many jobs, hunting trips to Mississippi with his friend Robert Payne, MD and Canada with Billy Slaughter and Nat Dye. The seventies found Fain single again and also introduced him to his last love, Christa. Tara and Cade became products of his last marriage, and Fain’s family of eight became complete.

In 1980 Fain sold UU, Inc. and founded Southern Precast Concrete Co. and started making the pipe he used to lay with great success. In 1985 he secured his first property on the Georgia coast and consummated his 40 year love affair with saltwater fishing. During this time, Fain continued his hunting ways with annual trips to Crooked Oaks to quail hunt with his cousin Pat after football season was over. He traveled annually as well to Groton Plantation and South Dakota during the fall and winter months to pursue quail and ducks. By 1993, Fain dissolved Southern Precast and returned to join Billy in overseeing the operations at CBA/CSA.

Fain forever had an affinity for dogs. Going back to the rabbit and squirrel dogs of his childhood, and the many, many bird dogs he hunted over through the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s; In 1997, he acquired Spartan from his good friend Larry Hildreth in Wrens, GA (who he also got his pet golden retriever “Rattler” from years earlier) with the goal of training him to be a superior retriever… and in that Fain found his calling. Spartan was just the beginning of Fain’s paternal K-9 bliss. After Spartan came Maggie, Misty, Charlie, Maddie, Perrie, & Coosa. His dogs, always with him, defined his fourth quarter.

Speaking of fourth quarters, Fain appreciated what a blessing it was to witness and partake in UGA’s reascension to the top of the college football landscape under head coach Kirby Smart. A man who truly bled red and black, who lauded the unheralded greats like Mike Cavin, Kent Lawrence, Steve Greer, and Malcom Mitchel just to name a few. Fain would watch games like coaches reviewing game film. He would critique blocks and missed tackles like he was still between the hedges himself.

Alas, all great tales must come to an end. As a great appreciator of literature, Fain always enjoyed fiction and non-fiction works alike. His favorites included Earnest Hemingway, Robert Ruark, Louis L’amour, and Vince Flynn. Like their heros, Fain rode off into the sunset just as he wanted… At home on Belmont Road, watching football, and with his dogs nearby.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to Athens “Y” Camp in Fain’s memory. P.O. Box 8 Tallulah Falls, GA 30573.

Friends & Family will be welcomed at Fain’s Farm, Sunday September 14th @ noon. Services to follow. 1070 Belmont Rd. Athens, GA 30605.