Earnest E. “Sharkey” Prather, 85, formerly of Allen County, passed away Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, at Riverwood Nursing Home in Lewisburg, Pa.
Earnest was born Dec. 7, 1930, in Pleasant Hill, Mo., the son of Mose Alfred and Mary Marie (Harris) Prather. The Prather family moved to LaHarpe in 1937. On July 1, 1951, Earnest married Beverly June Newberry in Fairplay, Colo. He then served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict plus eight more years in the Army Reserves. Earnest and Beverly made their home in many places because of his work as a compliance officer for OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency of the U.S. Department of Labor. In 1998 they moved to Dayton, Ohio, from Las Vegas. Earnest was Beverly’s caregiver for over 15 years as she suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease. She preceded him in death Aug. 16, 2007. He moved to Pennsylvania two years ago to be near his daughter.
Survivors include a daughter, Linda Hickman and husband Philip, Selinsgrove, Pa.; sons, James Prather, Boise, Idaho, and Michael Prather and wife Sara, Bel Aire; a brother, Dave Prather, Meeker, Colo.; three grandchildren, three stepgrandchildren; four great-grandchildren and two stepgreat-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, four sisters, Millie Chambers, Darlene Paddock, Violet Sherwood Johnson and Bonnie Pennington, and two brothers, Joe and Dale Prather.
Visitation will be 10 a.m. to noon Monday at Feuerborn Family Funeral Service in Iola. Graveside services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Highland Cemetery in Iola. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Association and may be left with the funeral home. To leave a condolence online, go to www.iolafuneral.com.
Earnest Prather
