Dolores Sloop

Dolores Cash “Pete” Sloop, 90, of Wilson, died peacefully on March 19, 2025.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday April 5, 2025 at 2:00 PM at First Presbyterian Church of Wilson. Rev. Nick Demuynck will be officiating, and the family will receive friends in the church parlor after the service.

She was predeceased by her husband of 64 years, Dr. Robert F. Sloop, Jr. of Wilson, NC in addition to her parents Burnice Walter Cash and Flavil Liles Cash, and her brother, James B. Cash.

Dolores was born at home in Louisburg, NC on April 25, 1934. Her Aunt Christine gave her the nickname “Pete” as a child. She excelled in school and became a basketball standout at Mills High School in Louisburg, graduating in 1952. As a senior she was described in her yearbook as “The best of sports in every game; in other things, she is the same.” She chose to pursue a career in service to others and graduated in 1955 as a Registered Nurse from The Rex Hospital School of Nursing in Raleigh. She became a surgical nurse, assisting on cardiothoracic surgery cases at Duke University Hospital in Durham and UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. She met her future husband Bob in the operating room at UNC when he was a medical student. They were married in 1960, and she became a devoted spouse as Bob received a direct commission to join the US Air Force as Captain. After serving during the early 1960s at Vandenberg AFB in California and Homestead AFB in Florida, they moved to Richmond, VA for Bob’s ophthalmology residency at the Medical College of Virginia. Their family moved to Wilson, NC in 1967 where she and her husband established a loving home and built a long and happy life together. She joined the Wilson County Medical Auxiliary, supporting patient care and medical education in the school community. She was active in the First Presbyterian Church of Wilson and served in many positions in the Women of the Church, including president. She served as a Deacon of the church, taught Sunday School, helped with Youth Fellowship, and delivered Meals on Wheels to the Wilson community. For her leadership and faithful service to the church, the Presbyterian Women awarded her with an Honorary Life Membership in 1989. She was a loving mother and supported her three children in area schools, both in academics and organized sports. She played competitive tennis, enjoyed snow skiing, and was a lifelong fan of UNC Basketball. She supported the Arts Council of Wilson and enjoyed painting and creating pottery. She was skilled at needlepoint and sewing. She maintained close friendships, and she was a longtime member of book clubs and bridge groups. She traveled with family and friends extensively in the US and abroad, and she looked forward to her annual reunion with her nursing school classmates who called themselves “The Dirty Dozen.” Later in life she was a doting grandmother, known as GG to her six grandchildren.

She is survived by her sons Robert F. Sloop III of Indialantic, FL and David W. Sloop (Kristen) of Raleigh, NC; daughter Dr. Catherine Sloop Steffee (Dr. Craig Steffee) of Farmville, NC; grandchildren Robert F. Sloop IV (Jenny), Elizabeth Sloop, John Sloop, Eliza Sloop, Katherine Sloop, and Caroline Steffee; and great-grandchild Matthew Sloop.

The family would like to thank Kathy and Larry Krabill for their steadfast friendship and advocacy over the past year.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Wilson, PO Box 3184, Wilson, NC 27895.

Arrangements by Wilson Memorial Service, 2811 Fieldstream Drive N, Wilson, (252) 237-7171; www.wilsonmemorialservice.com