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Phyllis Ann Deisher Prater of Thomaston, Maine, died peacefully Saturday, July 30, 2016, surrounded by family.
She was born July 17, 1932, in Noxen, Pa., to the Rev. Harold and Christine Nagle Deisher. Mrs. Prater was educated in the public schools of Pennsylvania and graduated from Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre in 1950 and from Wilkes College in 1954. She married the Rev. Willard Gibbs Prater on June 19, 1954. The couple resided in New Milford and Hellertown, Pa., and in Bellefontaine, where Mrs. Prater taught in the public schools. She earned her master of arts degree in English literature from Wright State University in Dayton in 1982. She served as an adjunct professor at Franklin University and Columbus State Community College in Columbus. In 1997, the Praters relocated to Thomaston, Maine.
Mrs. Prater maintained memberships with St. John Baptist Episcopal Church and the Thomaston Historical Society in Maine, the Logan County Historical Society, the Pennsylvania German Society and the Brontë Society and Thomas Hardy Society in England. Mrs. Prater was a longtime volunteer with the Crisis Hotline in Bellefontaine where she was recognized for having saved the life of a caller.
Survivors include the Rev. Willard Prater, her husband of 62 years; her children, Alison August (Paul) Fedio of Burke, Va.; Lisl (Shawn) Prater-Lee of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Piers (Jennifer) Prater of North Wales, Pa.; grandchildren, Rhiannon August, Christiana and Gillian Prater-Lee and Ryan and Adam Prater; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Prater was predeceased by her parents, her sister, Mary Sue (Alfred) Cave, and brother, Harold F. (Doris) Deisher.
A funeral service begins at 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 8, at Trinity Episcopal Church, Ambler, Pa., with viewing an hour before the service. Interment follows at Friedens Cemetery, Oley, Pa. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to the Memorial Fund of St. John Baptist Episcopal Church, 200 Main St., Thomaston, Maine.
Arrangements were handled by the William R. May Funeral Home Glenside in North Wales where condolences may left at www.mayfuneralhome.com.