Family pays tribute to 'true city treasure' Sheffield grandad who sold furniture in the city for decades

Jeff Slator had vascular dementia but even in his final days the salesman was still flashing his cheeky grin says his family.

He was born July 18, 1939 in Bradford and in 1956 he served three years in the army in Malta.

He married his wife Marian in 1963 and the couple had two children, Nigel in 1966 and Rachael in 1970, who now has two children Evie and Freddie.

The family left Bradford as Jeff was given the opportunity to manage a furniture store in Sheffield and set up home here in 1968.

His first furniture shop was opened in 1972 and by 1980 he needed to expand to bigger premises as business was going so well.

Rachael said: “When he first set up his shop he had 12 matteresses and was told if he didn’t sell them he could return them and because someone took a chance on him he made sure he helped others out.

"He did a lot of work with the residents of Kelvin Flats – he let them pay for furniture on a weekly basis and could often be seen carrying the furniture up the stairs himself.

"There was one time he sent a mattress up in the lift and walked up with the bottom of the bed but by the time he reached the right floor the mattress had been taken."

Rachael says it was her dad’s kind-hearted nature that set him apart from the big corporations and said he was a ‘true city treasure’.

She said: “When former customers used to see him out and about they would smile and wave to him and very often he was invited into people's houses and plied with food particularly from the women who moved over from the Caribbean as they were all so grateful he had taken a chance on them and trusted them to pay for the furniture over time rather than up front.”

Over the years Jeff became so well-known in the community he even managed to secure a Miss Great Britain to come and open another part of the shop.

His family describe his life as a true rags to riches story, saying he he grew up poor but was always working hard to better himself and this started even when he was a boy digging up the garden to make moulded guns and he selling them to the other boys in the neighbourhood and giving his mother the money for housekeeping.

As well as having the Infirmary Road shop Jeff was also an active Free Mason who did a lot of good for other people.

When granddaughter Evie was struggling at school her mum believed she may have dyslexia. After taking tests, paid for by Jeff, he became very passionate about this cause and got his mason brothers to fundraise to help other less fortunate children to pay for testing and the subsequent lessons once diagnosed.

Evie Ward-Drummond, 20, said: "They could have very easily stopped after they helped me out but they chose to keep going and extended the programme across the community helping more children to learn to read, that's just the type of man he was - if there was someone who needed helping out he was there.”

With his family life going well, he continued to develop and grow his business however he had his first closing down sale in 1999 but could not step away from the furniture trade for another 13 years and finally retired in 2012.

Rachael added: “There will be a lot of people saddened to hear he is not with us and we all know he was a true gem.

"He was sad to leave the business he loved but he just couldn’t keep up with the other trading giants.

"However, his name and reputation is still so well thought off that the current business owners still trade under the name of Mr Slator’s.”

Jeff’s vascular dementia was diagnosed in 2014 and he died of pneumonia on July 24.

His funeral will take place on Monday August 17 but due to Covid restrictions the cortege will leave his Loxley home at 10am and proceed to Woodstock Road and on to his shop on Infirmary Road at 10.20am where friends and past customers can gather and pay their respects. A live webcast for his funeral is available, for more information contact Peace Funerals on 0114 233 0563.

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