Thomas A. Prather

June 7, 1924 - July 4, 2020

Thomas Albert Prather, 96, passed away Saturday, July 4, 2020 at the North Mississippi Medical Center. He was born June 7, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois to Nell McConnell Prather and Harry Logan Prather. He grew up in Chicago and Hammond, Indiana. They later moved to Washington DC and he graduated from Western High School in 1942. He attended the University of Kentucky and then served with the 72nd Battalion of the United States Navy Seabees in the Pacific during World War II and in Japan after the war ended. They were proud to have been part of the liberation of Guam from the Japanese Occupation in 1944. After his discharge he returned to the University of Kentucky where he earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering. He was a member of the Sigma Kappa Social Fraternity and a member of the Pershing Rifle R.O.T.C. drill teams and an assistant editor of the Kentucky Engineer Magazine. After college, Tom worked in Chicago with International Harvester, Taylor Forge, Clayton Mark Corporation which later became FMC. Tom was on the planning team that made the move to Tupelo in 1974, retiring from FMC after 29 years of service in manufacturing engineering in 1989. He met the love of his life, Lois Glos at a youth hostel canoe trip in Michigan in 1952. The canoed together that summer and on Valentine’s Day, 1953, they were married in John Timothy Stone Chapel in Chicago, the same church where his mother and father were married. Tom and Lois then made their home in Elmhurst and Glen Ellyn, Illinois. They stayed active with AYH, planning and skiing with the groups. Together they enjoyed traveling extensively to Europe, Mexico, Hawaii, Japan, as well as many other destinations. Tom was an avid amateur photographer and enjoyed reading, gardening, and gourmet cooking Tom was vice president of the Chicago Dragway Ski Patrol. He was a ski instructor and was appointed a national ski patrol chairman for the Midwest region and served for almost 20 years. He was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church. He is survived by two children, Anne Prather Boone (Mal) of Swannanoa, North Carolina and Tom Alexander Prather of Houston, Texas. Tom was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Lois, in 2010; and by his parents. A graveside service will be held at a later date in Hickman, Kentucky. W.E. Pegues is in charge of the arrangements. Expressions of sympathy may be left at www.peguesfuneralhome.com