Robert E. Slocum's Obituary
Robert E. “Bob” Slocum, born November 28, 1938 in Oklahoma, died April 26, 2024 in Dallas Texas at age 85. He passed away peacefully in the presence of his family after facing cancer.
Bob was born in Oklahoma City and grew up in El Reno where his father managed the historic El Caro / Centre movie theatre. He received his BS in 1960 and MEP in 1963 both in Engineering Physics, from the University of Oklahoma. He was awarded his Ph.D. in Atomic Physics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1969.
From 1959 to 1982 Bob worked at Texas Instruments where he directed production research for the AN/ASQ-81 helium magnetometer and led the advanced magnetometer research group as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff. He is the inventor of the diode laser pump source for helium magnetometers, the nuclear-free precession helium-3 magnetometer, and the Planar Thin-Film Polarizer and published numerous papers on ultra-high-performance optical magnetometers for space, Navy, and geophysical applications as well as strategic planning for small businesses.
Bob founded Polatomic, Inc. in 1982 and served as Chairman and Chief Technical Officer. Bob was also the founder of Integrated Photonics, the world’s largest manufacturer of synthetic garnet used in optical isolators for the Optical Internet. He also served as the Founder and CEO of Slocum Geophysics, a geophysical exploration company that applies Navy sub-hunting technology to oil exploration. Bob was credited with numerous patents in his field including a polarizing coating process named the “Slocum Process.”
Bob and Linda Collum were married in 1967, and their son Paul was born in 1974.
In 1986, Bob wrote the book “Ordinary Christians in a High Tech World.” Many Christian leaders consider this as one of the earliest and most influential books in the current “theology of work” movement giving value and practical insight on how Sunday church attenders can see their work during the rest of the week as a place for robust discipleship and as immensely valuable to God. This book was republished in 1990 under the title Maximize Your Ministry: How You as a Lay Person Can Impact Your World for Jesus Christ.
Bob was a Dietrich Bonhoeffer scholar, and through a long friendship with Christian author Keith Miller, Bob was an advocate for small community Bible studies that included rotating leadership to equip people to go deeper by leading and not just participating. For three decades, Bob and Linda facilitated groups in communities that included Catholic, Episcopal, Bible church participants as well as in the Roseland Housing Projects in East Dallas. These groups came to be known as 5D Transformational Discipleship Groups that helped participants build habits of 1. Daily individual Bible study and simple spiritual disciplines focused on listening to the Holy Spirit; 2. Shared teaching of scripture with personal application and rotating leadership; 3. Small group sharing; 4. Conversational prayer and 5. Mission in the world in the workplace, daily life and cross-cultural contexts.
Throughout the 1990s, Bob taught a Doctor of Ministry course at Fuller Seminary helping pastors understand their role to equip people to serve God in their workplaces. Starting in 2014, Bob served on the board of Bakke Graduate University which includes theology of work as a major emphasis in its integrated colleges of Christian theology, business and urban studies.
Bob was an early student and performer of rock and roll in the late 1950s using his cherished Fender Telecaster guitar, and he considered going professional before ultimately choosing physics instead. Bob often wrote and sang original songs to bring various Psalms to life through a country and western sound. Later in life, he was delighted to learn that one of his ancestors was a famous Texas “cowboy poet” from the late 19th century. Bob also had a love for fly fishing and spent time teaching others various casting and rigging techniques.
Bob's parents were E.R. "Red" Slocum and Billie Mae Slocum, and he is survived by his wife Linda Slocum who resides in Dallas, as well as his son Paul Robert Slocum, daughter-in-law Rachel Abelson and granddaughter Lucille Ellen Slocum who reside in Pasadena, CA.
A Celebration of Life service was held on July 19th, 2024 at Highland Park Presbyterian Church. Video of the service with photos and Bob's music are available at the following link: https://treewave.com/robertslocum/
If Flowers are to be purchased in Memory of Bob, Please send them to:
Linda Slocum
8750 Westminster Terrace #5202
Dallas, TX 75243
What’s your fondest memory of Robert?
What’s a lesson you learned from Robert?
Share a story where Robert's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Robert you’ll never forget.
How did Robert make you smile?