John Steven Prather died near Townsend, Montana on November 27, 2012 at the age of 61. He was born August 16, 1951 in Glendive, Montana to Orley and Dorothy (Thompson) Prather. He grew up in many states as the family followed his father’s career as a geophysicist. He graduated from Arapaho High School in Littleton, Colorado in 1969 and attended college in Colorado Springs before joining the US Navy. He served his country in Japan as a radio tech controller for three years before being honorably discharged in 1975. He went to work for Lockheed Martin as an electrical engineer building Titan Launch Vehicles for the Air Force. It was there that he met and married Elizabeth Kay (Ackerman) on September 7, 1991. He retired after twelve years and he and Elizabeth moved to Townsend in 2005. John enjoyed hunting, his four wheeler, and was a movie buff. He played Santa at the Broadwater Museum and enjoyed being called “Rocket Man.”
John is survived by his wife Elizabeth of Townsend, his mother Dorothy Prather of Littleton, Colorado, his sister Jane Cupp of Brighton, Colorado, his niece Stacie Gammel and nephew Matthew Cupp. He was preceded in death by his father and his brother Jack Prather.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, December 1st at Connors Funeral Home from 12-6pm. A memorial celebration of John’s life will be held on Tuesday, December 4th at the Alliance Bible Church at 11am and burial with military honors will follow at 3pm at Ft. Harrison Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the family to assist with expenses.
Stacie Gammel says
Uncle John,
Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you. You taught me “magic” growing up in all things electronic 😉 My life would not have been as wonderful without you in it. I don’t know why, but I can usually handle the death of a loved one fine. But this one… I still can’t accept. I just wanted to say I love you. I miss you. I’ll see you again one day. And it’s ok if you mess with my lights and my car. I know it’s you 😉