James Prater

Johnie Prater, Jr. was born on November 29, 1946 in Prestonsburg, KY to Johnie and Helen E. (Addis) Prater. He was raised in Floyd County, KY with his younger brother, James E. He relocated with his family when he was about 19yo to Calhoun County, MI. He married his first wife, Margaret Ann Marshall, also from Kentucky in Michigan as her family had also relocated. While living there, they had their only two children, both daughters... but due to his occupation in retail they soon moved around before settling in Norwalk, OH. After relocating numerous times after his daughters were grown and his divorce, he finally settled in Rochester, NY for several of the last years of his life. He relocated to Norwalk, OH to be near his mother a year or so before his death. Suffering from a long-term heart condition that was diagnosed with his first heart attack when he was 41yo, he died at Firelands Hospital in Sandusky, OH on October 31,2019 just a few hours after his implanted defibrillator knocked him to the ground while grocery shopping with his brother. He did have a few hours to talk to his family before his death and hopefully they had a chance to say all that was necessary. He was a Christian and a Republican for most of his life, and he is missed by his family -- obstinance and all.

James was born on August 20, 1948 in Prestonsburg, KY as the second son to Johnie (Helen E.) Prater, Sr. James was an active person: his mother said that he was on-the-go from the time he was able to walk -- he loved to be outside whenever he could. He was also driven to succeed and to not give up, as he often said in later life "I think that if I stop moving, I will probably die." He also was a very inquisitive person: he wanted to know how things worked and be able to fix them when they would not -- his parents first realized this when he got a broken electric clock as a child from a family member and fixed it. It was running and mounted on his mother's wall until she moved in the mid-1990s. Like all of the family, he was strong-willed (stubborn), had difficulty accepting his own faults, and loved to argue. Unlike them, he usually did not have much to say unless he was explaining something or upset. He was good at providing for his family -- he claimed that it was because he never had much as kid... though he had very loving parents. As an adult, he constantly tried his best to provide for his family sometimes to his physical and mental detriment. He moved with his parents in the late 1960s to Michigan, where he met and married his wife (Charlene) and they had their three children. In the mid-1970s, he relocated the family to Norwalk, OH in search of better job opportunities. His parents joined the family in Norwalk about 2 years later. Though divorced in 2014, he remained there to be near his mother and to care for her as best he could. After his mother fell and broke her hip in September 2019, this added stress exacerbated his underlying health conditions. He died on November 20, 2019 at home after a year long battle with cancer and an ongoing heart condition -- leaving his mother in the care of his ex-wife and children.

Johnie Prater, Sr. was born on March 6, 1919 in Blue River, Kentucky to Riley and Cora (Slone) Prater. He was one of 13 children born to Cora (6 by her first husband [Lewis P. Haywood] and 7 by Riley Prater). He served in numerous violent battles in the Pacific theatres of WWII. Upon discharge, he met and married his second wife (Helen E. Addis) with whom he had his only 3 children (Johnie Jr., James E. Sr., and Sallie Lee[stillborn]). He worked in several coal mines during the mining boom in Kentucky, but finally settled in Michigan in the late 1960s where he worked for Corning Glass until an on-site injury caused his early disability retirement. He and Helen relocated to Norwalk, Ohio is the mid 1970s to be closer to the sons and their respective families who had moved there a few years earlier. He was a devout Freewill Baptist and a Christian since his late twenties; as well as a staunch Democrat -- regularly remembering the difficulties that he and his family faced under Republican administrations all of his life. He died at his home on January 21, 1988... and he has been sorely missed by his family ever since.