Gale 'Slic' Slicton

A memorial service is 10 a.m. Saturday in Sonora, Calif., for former Carson Valley rancher Gale 'Slic' Slicton, who died Nov. 28, 2009, at his ranch near Milton, Calif., in Calaveras County.

Born April 4, 1938, in Sonora to Charles and Mabel Dambacher Slicton, he was a descendent of the Tuolumne County pioneer Dambacher family. He attended Shaws Flat Grammar School. After graduating from Sonora High School, he worked for Pickering Lumber and PG&E. During this time, he began day work as a cowboy, which became his lifelong passion.

He worked for Brooks Ranch near Jamestown, Calif. In the early 1970s, he began his own herd when he went to work at the Dressler Ranch in Gardnerville.

He expanded his operation to the Moran Ranch at Milton, Rodden Ranch at Copperopolis and the Dressler Ranch at Bridgeport.

For many years he lived the traditional cowboy lifestyle, living in cow camps, line shacks and tending cattle in the foothills and high ranges of the Sierra Nevada.

He married Anita Moran Slicton in 2000. They lived on the Moran Ranch east of Farmington until his death.

He worked to perpetuate cowboy history and was one of the few artisans to make handmade cow bells.

Mr. Slicton was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by his wife; brother David (Carole) Slicton of Sonora; sister Linda Bernhard of Montana; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The service will be at Terzich & Wilson Funeral Home in Sonora and will be followed by a traditional cowboy burial at Milton Masonic Cemetery.

Donations may be made to the Oakdale Cowboy Museum, 355 E. F St., Oakdale, CA 95361, or to the Shaws Flat Scholarship Fund, care of the Sonora Area Foundation, PO Box 577, Sonora, CA 95370.