Franklin Wayne Slatten, age 85, passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, June 20, 2026.
Wayne was born on June 23, 1940, to the late Frank and Nannie Belle Mason Slatten. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his brother Jerald “Butt Cutt” Slatten.
To know him was to love him. He had a couple of nicknames: Speedy if you were in Alabama and Bummy if you were in Tennessee. He was the most comical person and the most hardworking man. He was a provider for his family; his children would say he worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. His granddaughter was notorious for videoing his crazy, comical stuff he would do and would share them with her friends.
He was born in Quebeck, in the old farmhouse where his father was also born, and he later brought his family from Alabama to live in that same house. He left home at age 18 to go to work in Nashville at the Stockyard. He was drafted into the Army in July 1965 and served in the Vietnam War. Upon his return from the war, he continued to work in Nashville. The owner of the Sweet Sue Kitchen contacted Wayne to come to Alabama to work as the maintenance supervisor.
While working at Sweet Sue, he met the love of his life, Faye. They shared more than 57 years together. Shortly after he married Faye, he started his own electrical business in Alabama. Upon selling the business a few years later, the contract had a non-compete clause, which brought him and his family back to his hometown in Quebeck, Tennessee, in 1977.
Sparta Electric Motor Service was started immediately. A very successful venture where he was awarded most sales in middle Tennessee for heating and cooling for numerous years. That business was sold in 1989. Wayne was a self-taught electrician. If it was electric, he knew how to fix it or build it. Several local sawmills relied on him to build the breaker boxes to run the mill. He started Slatten Enterprises in late 1990 because he saw that being retired wasn’t for him. This was where he became known all over the states for his electrical abilities. He actually worked the day before he passed away at his son-in-law’s sawmill; he loved to work!
If you saw him out, it was probably at the Rock Island Market or Broadway Hardware in the past few years. He was a socializer and loved to talk with everyone.
Wayne was a founding member of Christ Church at Bone Cave. He led singing for the first few years of the church starting, following in his father’s footsteps.
He is lovingly survived by his wife, Faye Green Slatten, their daughters, Kim (Alex) Savage and Wendy (Dillard) Quick, and three grandchildren who adored their papa dearly: Zander Savage, Morgan Quick, and Keegan Quick. He is also survived by his oldest brother, Alfred Reed Slatten of Lebanon, and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be conducted 3 pm Monday, June 22, 2026, from the Chapel of Hunter Funeral Home with burial in Jericho Cemetery. The family will receive friends after 1 pm Monday at Hunter Funeral Home. Haskel Myers will officiate.
Pallbearers will be Zander Savage, Keegan Quick, Morgan Quick, Grady Bailey, Dillard Quick, Alex Savage, and Josh Dayton.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to be made to the Jericho Cemetery Fund ℅ Megan Dodson, 705 Ida Rd., Quebeck, TN 38579 or the Quebeck/Walling Community Club ℅ Wendy Quick, 468 Lakeview Rd., Walling, TN 38587.
Hunter Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
