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Jess Prater Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for Jess Prater
Sponsored by Jim and Jeanne Kill.
Jim Kill
November 14, 2023
Still think about you every year at this time. Give my love to Jeanne. Love you both!!!
Jim Kill
December 28, 2012
Jess...
Every Christmas I think of You bringing Jeanne her Christmas Pointsetta plant. Miss you alot and all our private talks.
Jim
Jim Kill
November 13, 2009
Jess:
As you know Jeanne is with you now and its been seven long months for me without her,(March 4,2009). Please protect her for me. I miss you allot too!!
Love Ya's
Jim
Jim Kill
February 24, 2009
Jess:
I wanted to let you know that your Jeanne will be with you soon. We had to let her go to Hospice today and its only a matter of time now before she will see you again. Please take care of her for me.
Love Ya's:
Jim
Jim Kill
November 18, 2008
Jess:
Seems like just yesterday you left us (November 17, 2005) and it's been three years now. I seem to think about you alot lately and have the picture of you and Beth on my wall at the office. Still miss you alot and miss our talks.
Love Ya's
Jim
jeanne kill
November 17, 2008
Hello, my dearest friend Jess,
Just a note to say 'Hi" and tell you again how much we miss you. Still talk about you all the time and some of your great revelations still guide me.
Soul food time is approaching, but it will be small this year. Kim will be home with her husband and the baby so I am so happy about that.
Family is the most important.
Kove you always,
Jeanne
December 21, 2007
Hi big guy,
Missing you this holiday season as always. I bought one of those Rose Poinsetias that you always used to bring me. I walked in a store and it was the first thing I saw. So I took it as an omen that it was you.
Love you and miss you and we will be thinking about you.
Jeanne
Jim
December 20, 2007
Merry Christmas Jess
Love Ya's
Jim
July 18, 2007
Dad,
We continue to toil with life and "things" and I remember every day when I look into the eyes of my sons how special you are to me. I can even still hear your voice, seriously... I have been able to save a voice mail from you on my phone and listen to just the beginning, the way you always started your messages "hey it's Dad" as if you needed to tell me.
NOTHING, can ever take the most important things you gave me away, my faith, the knowledge between right and wrong, honor that my word means something. I hope I can be some portion of the dad you were to me to my boys.
"Boy's" They have grown so much both physically and as young men. I can stand behind Alexander and you cannot see me. At fourteen he is taller than his daddy, so is Nick. Now he wants to be called Nick. He is a hard worker and a pretty good businessman.
Maria is good she has type two but has it under control with diet and activity.
We all miss you and love you.
Jess
June 28, 2007
Hi Jess,
Haven't spoken with you in some time. You probably already know whats been going on, but its been hectic. Kim moved to Illinois as Greg became an officer, 2nd Lt. in A.F. and he got his degree in Engineering at USF, and then they were re-assigned. Really miss them and especially my grand-baby. Still doing Chemo, something new. Makes me sick but seems to be working. Keep watching over me as I know you are up there influencing things.
Miss you much!!!. Saw Dr. Holbrook few days ago. He is doing well and looks good. He is a very nice man.
Went by the office again, it always gives me solice when I pass it remembering all the fun times and all the experiences we all shared. Truly miss those days.
Wish you were still here with us,but you are in our hearts and mind always.
Bless you, and remember we love you.
Jim & Jeanne
March 27, 2007
Hi Doc,
Happy belated B.D. Its not that I forgot, its that I have been in bed sick and then I went away on saturday. Got home late Sunday and Had another experimental treatment on Monday.
You should see me. My face and neck look like I walked thru a poison Ivy patch. Its reaction from the drug.
Anyway, I look like I'm going thru puberty again, but then at my age that may be a good thing.
I went by your old house on purpose today, on lake Carroll. I was just thinking about you being in that house with Jess jr. and Suzanne little. You loved that house, so I figure it has special memories for you, so I went by there and could feel your presence with me.
Hope you had a big party in heaven and enjoyed your B.D.
We love and miss you.
Jeanne & Jim
March 25, 2007
Dear Dad,
Friday was hard for me, knowing it was your birthday and we weren't going to be celebrating.I still cry, but have not forgotten the promise of us all being together again.
Love,
Jess
February 7, 2007
Hi my friend,
Its been a while since I wrote you, but I wanted to have lots to tell you.
You already know how much I miss you. We had our usual Christmas Eve party with family and friends--lots of soul food you would have enjoyed and a good group of people. You would have enjoyed the company. Hope you were looking down from Heaven on us.
I am doing pretty good and feel good, have had some treatments in the hospital, but they were good and I know that you are taking care of me and looking over me as you always did before, so I am in good hands.
I ran into some of our patients the other day and of course your name came up. We recalled the good times back at your office. I sure miss those days. Sometimes you don't realize how very much you care about something or someone until you don't have it any more. But at least you and I knew exactly what the other was thinking and that we did care about each other.
Jim sends his love and really misses you also, though you know it is hard for him to show his feelings sometimes, but he keeps your picture in his office and we talk about you often.
I go by your old house all the time, on the water when you were with Betty and the kids were growing up. My daughter lives just down the street and I pass it often. Lots of memories there for you, I know.
The stars were really shining tonight when I went out, so I looked up and saw you, my mother and my brother as well. You were so bright and I told you all that I love you. Did you hear me.?
I won't wait so long to write you again. Say hello to everyone for me and "keep on trucking"
Love ya,
Jeanne
jeanne kill
November 21, 2006
A copy of the Eulogy for Jesse Prater, by Jeanne Kill
Where do I begin…
It is so difficult to speak about someone that you loved, that you admired and not have him here to look to for support during this story.
He was the eloquent one, the speaker who could broach any subject and make it his own. I am sure he is smiling down on me and saying; “don’t forget the things that I taught you”. ‘You can do this”.
Once, he wanted me to speak at a seminar that we were having and I said to him, Dr. Prater, I don’t know how, I’m nervous, I’ve never done this before. He said to me, ‘one time I had never done this before either, but I will tell you my secret’.
At the end of the long hallway in the office was a pedestal and on top of it was a large bowl with grapes in it. I had in the past asked him if I could remove the bowl and get a new one since this one was getting a bit shaggy. He said those grapes would never come down because that is how he learned to speak in public. He would stand before the grapes and recite over and over again what his speech was to be and the grapes were his audience, so he said to me,,,, ‘go speak to the grapes’.
We all go through life and encounter so many different people. Some, if we are fortunate, will become our friend and will have great meaning in our life. Such is this man, Dr. Jesse Prater.
I came to work for Jesse in 1973 and just kind of stayed for a very long time. It was wonderful, the best time ever. We had fun and we all worked hard. And we all became like a family. We had some of the most interesting patients from all walks of life. From the Culverhouse’s to the Jones’s….Each got the same wonderful care. We picked up patients at the airport when they came in, at their hotel or their home and took them back. Anything to make them comfortable. You see,.. people came from all over to have him do their dentistry.
I worked for him for over 16 years until just shortly before he sold and left his practice. He would always tell me…”neither one of us leaves without the other, we will both retire together” and so it was. I left to join my husband in our business and 3 months later he left his practice in the hands of Dr. Doug Geninger and retired that chapter of his life. One of the greatest compliments he ever paid me was just before I left, He said to me, ‘Jeanne, you have been with me for 16 years in all different capacities from dental assistant, receptionist, to office manager and you have never offended not even one patient”and he thanked me for being a part of this great experience.
I have carried that with me ever since. We were a team.
Jess later moved to Arkansas, but we always kept in touch. My husband and I visited him and when he finally moved back to Tampa, he and Beth stayed with us for a few days while their home was being prepared. Of course, Jess and I stayed up all night talking and really catching up on things. He and I both were night people. It was great.
Jess was a kind, loving, gentle man. And oh so smart. There wasn’t anything we couldn’t talk about. He helped me, giving me advice if I had a problem as he did with so many of his other staff members and many of his patients. So many of his patients came to him, not only, for the wonderful dentistry that he provided them, but also for his advice and guidance. They too became his friend.
He was a man of wisdom, and a man who truly cared about what was happening to you. And if he could help, he was there.
I always say, Jess was years ahead of his time. His dentistry was a work of art. His knowledge of detail and commitment to his craft led the way for others that followed. He was a visionary,… developing technology and new methods of treatments with his right hand man Jerry Perez, his dental technician. Jerry owned his lab, but worked out of Jess’s office. This made it easy to customize, or change any aspect of the work while the patient was in the chair. . They worked endless hours perfecting every aspect they wanted to achieve in the areas of Crown and Bridge. I think Dr. Prater was the first dentist to take his dental technician to the dental seminars so that together they could “see the whole picture” of what they wanted to accomplish.
He surrounded himself with the best in the dental field in his colleagues in other specialties, Dr. Thomas Holbrook, Dr. Cary Williams, Dr. Richard Peck, Dr. John Birchfield, Dr. David Leever, Dr. Tony Castro, Dr. Ernie Cervis just to name a few, so that his patients would benefit from the best in all areas of dentistry. He truly respected these men. And liked to say, “they are really good operators”. They would spend endless hours getting together to discuss the treatment of their mutual patients, so that the best, proper treatment could be coordinated in the best interest of the patient. He never short cut anything.
I may be a bit prejudiced, but to me he is still the greatest dentist in his field I have ever seen. And he never minded teaching his craft to other dentists. I had calls from dentists who just wanted to come in to the office and watch him work. He shared his skills and knowledge when ever someone asked.
Dr. Prater was one of the few dentists at the time who successfully, and correctly diagnosed and treated patients with tempro mandibular dysfunction, in other words the proper alignment of the jaw in relation to the teeth, the gums and the whole body. He realized that poor alignment was the cause of not just problems with the mouth but many medical problems, such as Migraine headaches, neck pain, arm pain and other things.
We had a well known physician in our practice who one day related to Dr. Prater that his wife had horrible, debilitating migraine headaches and that it often interfered with her quality of life on a day to day basis. She had of course seen many specialists in the medical field who had treated her with medications, neck braces and other things that were just not working. Dr. Prater told him to have her come in to the office and let him take a look and maybe he could help. Well, reluctantly, one day she did come in and was diagnosed with a severe case of mis- alignment of the jaw. Jesse immediately made her a bite plate for correction . Soon after treatment, her symptoms went away and she had the first real sleep that she had had in a long time. Her husband was so pleased that he said he would never leave the house without being sure that she had her bite plate with her. She finally had no more migraines.
It infuriated Jess when patients came in with sub standard work. And his favorite expression for a poorly made crown or bridge was “it looks and fits like socks on a rooster”. We never had socks on a rooster. Dr. Prater’s crown margins were perfection.
For years,… after he quit practicing dentistry, If I had occasion to visit a dentist, I was either asked “who did your beautiful work in your mouth” or so often…”That’s Jess Prater’s work isn’t it.” That’s how good he was, that other dentists could look in your mouth and know that he, The Man, had done your work.
Most of you have read his obituary and know of the many organizations that he was a member of, and know of some of his other achievements so I won’t expound on them. But he was so much more…..He was a wonderful teacher to his staff. He gave you a job to do and then he let you do it. He never looked over your shoulder, he just knew and instilled in you that you could do it and do it better than anyone else, so of course, you never wanted to let him down. Some of the best dental assistants and hygienists have passed thru our office, and it was his expectation of doing “only your best” that inspired all of us.
I see that two of the best dental assistants in the world who also worked with us are here tonight; Ms. Sandra Jones and Ms. Anne DeYoung, Also his very dear friend Dr. John Solak, and his colleague Dr. Ray Anel are also here. He would be so very proud, and he is looking down and thanking you for your presence here tonight.
We had so many wonderful conversations together, we could go on for hours philosophizing about how we would fix the world problems, about religion, about personal matters, about so many subjects.. I will miss our talks so much. He was a very spiritual, religious man and I can assure you that he is having lengthy discussions with God on just about everything.
The last few days of his life in the hospital, I had the opportunity to speak with Jess alone and his thoughts were about his children, Jess Jr., his name sake and the apple of his eye and Suzanne, his daughter who he adored. I had come to work for him when they were very young and I had seen them grow and prosper and turn into wonderful young people, that he was so very
proud of. And I knew how very much they meant to him, and how he worried about them. And he said to me that he hoped that they would be ok. , And he told me how much he loved them and his grandchildren and how his grandchildren had brought him so much joy.
Jess made an impact on many lives, His children and family, his step- children, his colleagues, and friends.. I know he was proud of all of them. And he has left a lasting presence with all of us.
Jess and I knew each others thoughts and even secrets, I am glad and honored that he trusted me with so much. We always told each other when we spoke or saw each other, upon leaving,” I love you”, and so nothing was left unsaid between us and for that I am thankful. He and my husband Jim were great friends and they also talked about things. He would go to Jim when he wanted a direct answer, because Jim doesn’t mince his words, where as I will always give it “a good side” I will cherish those memories.
I will miss my Boss, my mentor, my friend. He will always be in my heart and somehow or other, I think he will still always be with me, looking down on me and still giving me advise.
I will end in keeping with our tradition of goodbye’s……
Goodnight my friend…
I love you, Jess
November 19, 2006
Jess,
Its that time of year again when everywhere I look I see you. Am Planning my "soul" food night again. Wish you were here to be with us, but know you will be hear in spirit. Come and visit me in my dreams again soon. I so love talking to you. /Love you so much,
Jeanne
Jess Prater Jr
November 17, 2006
Dad,
It has been a year since you closed your eyes here and opened them in the strong and mighty arms of a loving God. Knowing that you are there gives me peace but dosen't change that I miss and love you, we all do.
Love,
Jess, Maria, Nicholas & Alex
Jess Prater Jr.
October 25, 2006
Dad,
Not a day goes by that I don't reach for the phone to call and realize that I can't. Alex and Nicholas have both come to me at different times and told me how much they miss you and we cry. We miss you and love you.
October 25, 2006
HI big guy,
Just a hello, to tell you we love you!!! Talk about you all the time and how much we miss you. Your ears must be ringing.
Say hello to my mon and rest of family up there.
Jeanne & Jim
September 18, 2006
Hi Jess,
Thinking about you, so hello from us. It's been almost a year since you left us, but I still feel your presence and that's a good thing. We still talk about you all the time and miss your wit, wisdom and just you!! I saw Jess Jr. Wish you could have gotten a chance to talk with him more at the end, but then time gets by so quickly. He's a great person and I know you are proud of him.
All our love to you,
Jim and Jeanne
Jeanne Kill
August 30, 2006
Hi my friend,
Went by our old office yesterday. Many, Many happy memories as I passed it. We sure did have some great times, all of us as a family.
I really miss those days and I especially miss you. I have no one to talk to as I did with you.
Love you and think of you always.
Jeanne
jeanne kill
July 7, 2006
July 7, 2996
Jess, Had a dream about you last night. You looked so good, not sick or anything. I guess you came to visit me and let me know that you were alright.
Still miss you so much, but I think of you always. Jim and I talk about you all the time and I let Jim know when I am missing you. You are always with us in our hearts and minds. You know we love you. I am glad you are no longer hurting.
Jeanne
jeanne kill
March 21, 2006
Happy birthday Jess, love and miss you so much. Hope you have a great day on the 23rd in Heaven. Party for us too, ok.
TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF BLISS
February 20, 2006
MARYBETH PRATER
February 20, 2006
MY DARLING BELOVED HUSBAND, NO ONE, EXCEPT YOU, WOULD EVER DREAM OF HOW LONELY LIFE IS WITHOUT MY PRINCE CHARMING. THREE MONTHS HAVE SEEMED LIKE THREE LIFETIMES TO ME. I'M SO GLAD FOR YOU THAT YOU NO LONGER FEEL LIFE'S PAIN, AND THAT YOU HAVE REACHED THE PLACE THAT ALL CHRISTIANS LONG TO BE, BY YOUR SAVIOUR'S SIDE AND WITH THE LOVED ONES THAT HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE LIFE YOU SHARED WITH ME. I CAN'T BEGIN TO EXPLAIN THE MANY BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES TO ANYONE ELSE. NOT MANY PEOPLE ON EARTH HAVE WHAT WE HAD. I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU SO MUCH. YOUR BELOVED WIFE.
Jeanne Kill
January 21, 2006
My dearest friend, I miss you so very much. It is inconceivable that I cannot pick up the phone and hear your voice as I have for over 30 years. I feel your presence with me and I carry you in my heart and thoughts daily.
Both Jim and I love you dearly.
You would have loved the "soul food" at my house this Christmas Eve. We toasted to you and sent our love.
Jeanne Kill
Jeanne Kill
December 18, 2005
12-18-05
I am missing my friend Jess. This time of year I especially think of him. He used to come over to my house for Christmas Eve Dinner. Soul Food he called it. And he always brought me the most beautiful, hugh Rose Poinsiettas.
I miss and love you
Jeanne & Jim Kill
Mary Beth Prater
November 23, 2005
Jess Prater
Published in the TBO.com on 11/20/2005.
DR. JESSE PRATER, died November 17, 2005. He was born in Ocala on March 23, 1932. He attended public school in Ocala and graduated from Ocala High School in 1950. While in high school he was a member of the Glee Club, as music was one of the great love of his life. He worked for Pyles Funeral Home as an ambulance driver and funeral director's apprentice. After high school he moved to Kentucky to study to become a licensed embalmer and funeral director, which at the time, he had chosen as an occupation. He was drafted into the Army in 1952 and spent one and a half years in Nuremberg, Germany at the field hospital as a histo-pathologist which furthered his career in dentistry, becoming his ultimate profession later in life. After serving four years of duty in the Korean War, he returned to the United States. He attended college in the United States using his G.I. Bill to help pay his tuition. He later married Betty, (Beam) Prater of Bradsville, Ky. She worked as an RN while he went to college and dental school. They had two lovely children together, Jesse W. Prater of Tampa and Mrs. Suzanne Beam (Prater) Reid of Parkersberg. W.Va. Suzanne is married to William L. Reid, the son of Dr. Ray Reid. Together, Mrs. Betty (Beam) Prater and Dr. Jess Prater have five grandsons, Michael, Nicholas, Adam, Alex and David. After graduating from dental school in 1962, Dr. Prater immediately purchased a dental practice here in Tampa on Armenia Avenue, and the building is still there. In 1965 Dr. Prater had constructed a dental office for his own private practice at 2630 W. Waters Avenue in Tampa. The building is still there today and was the first project that architect Dean Rowe designed. It was unique in its architectural design and built in a time when Waters Avenue was mostly undeveloped land. There as no building anywhere in Tampa designed of its kind. In the beginning, Dr. Prater practiced general dentistry, but was never satisfied with "status quo." Therefore, he attended many seminars and became a member of numerous dental groups and associations which continued to expand his knowledge of dentistry and the ever changing progress taking place over the years in this field of medicine. He worked very closely with two professionals who were as progressive and talented as he in their own field of dentistry. Those two men are Dr. Thomas Holbrook, D.D.S., a periodontist and Gerardo Perez, C.D.T., who at the time conducted his dental laboratory business, specializing in crown and bridge, within Dr. Prater's office. Dr. Prater was the first dentist in Tampa to perform a procedure commonly known as telescoping crowns, also know as copings. It is an extremely complicated dental procedure, but Dr. Prater being a perfectionist, excelled in conducting this procedure, resulting in numerous delighted patients who are thankful for his success in this method made available to them. In early 1980, Dr. and Mrs. Prater succumbed to the demands and pursuers of a successful businessman. As a result, his request to excel at his work for the sake of his patients required Dr. Prater to spend many hours away from home and later in 1980 Dr. and Mrs. Prater divorced. In 1981, Dr. Prater married Mary Beth (Robinson) Brown, also of Ocala. She brought to the marriage, three children, Kathleen (Brown) Muellenberg of Tampa, Larry Ronal Brown of Tampa (deceased April 23, 2005) and Dr. Samantha (Brown) Kopala of Columbus, Ohio. There are five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren from Mary Beth's first marriage to Ronald Brown, formerly of Ocala, and now residing in Daytona Beach. Dr. Prater is a man who was loved by most everyone who met or came in contact with him, and was well respected within the dental community. For 10 years, he was the dental consultant to The Department of Health and Rehabilitation Services for the State of Florida. Some of the offices he held, memberships he belonged to and awards received included but are not limited to The American Academy of Cranio-mandibular Disorder (Charter Member), American Equilibration Society, American Academy of Dental Practice Administration, The Southern Academy of Dental Practice Administration, The Southern Academy of Clinical Nutrition (Chapter Member), The American Dental Association (Lifetime Member), The Florida West Coast Dental Society, Hillsborough County Dental Society, Hillsborough County Dental Research Group, Federation Dentaire International, Pierre Fauchard Academy, American Society of Preventative Dentistry, Florida Chapter (Past President), Federation of Prosthodontic Organizations, Lauritzen Dental Research Group of Tampa (Past Chairman), International Academy of Genathology, Fellow of The Royal Society of Health, International Platform Association, Fellow of The Royal Society of Health, International Platform Association, PSI Omega, Alpha Epsilon Delta, Lakeshore Villa Nursing Home (Dental Consultant), Florida Cripple Children's Commission (Dental Advisor), Dental Board of Advisors for Florida College of Medic al and Dental Assistants (Past Member), Dental Management Magazine (Past Consulting Editor), Dental Practice magazine (Past Consulting Editor). He authored the Book,"Ways to Better Days In Practice." Dr. Prater is listed in the following books of reference. Dr. Prater has conducted numerous post-graduate seminars and clinics throughout the United States on the principles of successful practice management and technical dentistry including, but not limited to the sophisticated procedure of telescoping crowns. Dr. Prater is predeceased by his father, Jesse Alvin Prater and his mother, Helen Beatrice (Jones) Prater, his brother, Russell Keith Prater, 25 years his senior, all of Ocala, and his step-son, Larry Ronald Brown of Tampa. Surviving are his wife, Mary Beth Prater; son, Jesse W. Prater, Jr. of Tampa; daughter, Suzanne B. (Prater) Reid of Parkersberg W.Va.; step-daughter, Kathleen (Brown) Muellenberg of Tampa; step-daughter Dr. Samantha (Brown) Kopala of Columbus, Ohio; grandsons, Michael, Adam and David Reid of Pakersberg W.Va., Senior Airman Christopher Beck of Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Miss., Nicholas and Alexander Prater of Tampa; granddaughters, Tabbatha (O'Dell) Swinning of Marysville, Ohio, Kiley Alexis Kopola of Columbus, Ohio; great-grandsons, Jacob and Zachary Swinning of Marysville, Ohio and sister-in law, Marie (Robinson) Windsor of Cocoa, Fla. Dr. Prater also has a few family members that may have survived him, but whom he has lost touch with since his illness. Last, he is survived by his long-time friend and associate, Jeanne Kill of Tampa. The funeral services will be held Monday evening, November 21, 2005 at Terrace Oaks Funeral Home, 12690 North 56th Street, Temple Terrace. FL 33617 from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. The viewing will be 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and services will begin at 7:00 p.m. conducted by Rev. David Insell of Batesville, Ark., a long-time friend and pastor of Mr. and Mrs. Prater. There will be another service in Ocala the week following Thanksgiving at Heirs-Baxley Funeral Home, phone, 352-629-7171.The date and time of this service is to be announced. Please contact the funeral home for the details. Dr. Prater will be laid to rest in Ocala at the Prater family plot. For those who wish to do so, send flowers or donations to Dr. Prater's cherished church: Believer's Community Church
3645 North St. Louis Street, Batesville, Arkansas, 72501
November 23, 2005
James Kill
November 23, 2005
A TRULY GREAT MAN HAS LEFT US THIS WEEK AND HAS GONE TO A BETTER PLACE. I HAVE LOVED THIS MAN FOR 25 YEARS. WE HAD SPEND HOURS UPON HOURS DISCUSSING EVERYTHING FROM LIFE, RELIGION, PHOTOGRAPHY, STOCKS, VIOLETS, JEWELERY, CARS AND FRIENDSHIP. JESS WAS A PERFECTIONEST IN EVERYTHING HE DID AND TRIED TO INSTILL THAT IN EVERYONE HE MET, INCLUDING ME. HE MOTIVATED ME IN MY BUSINESS AND HOW TO HANDLE CLIENTS WITH WITHOUT OFFENDING THEM. HE TAUGHT ME THAT IN LIFE YOUR FAITH WAS FIRST, YOUR WIFE SECOND, YOUR FAMILY WAS THIRD, FRIENDSHIP FOURTH AND YOUR BUSINESS LAST. HE TAUGHT ME TO NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF MY GOALS AND NEVER ACCEPT SECOND PLACE. HE AND I HAD A SAYING WHEN WE PARTED AFTER EVERY DINNER, A CONVERSATION OR MEETING…..”WHO LOVES YA BABY?”……AND WE WOULD WAVE GOOD BYE.
JESS……”WHO LOVES YA BABY?”
JIM KILL
11-23-05
Lisa Lotzkar
November 22, 2005
To the Family of Jess Prater:
My (now ex-husband) and I came to Tampa in the early 1980's to become a part of Jess' Practice on Waters Avenue. Jess was a wonderful host and took us under his wing to help us get a start, as my "then husband" started his practice under the watchful and intelligent eye of Jess. He made us feel so welcome in Tampa, and we spent many hours talking, dining and laughing together. It has been ages since I last saw Jess, but when I received this news, today, it felt like it was the 'end of an era' in my life. I send my condolences and can only say I am so sorry, and that the world already feels more empty, knowing that Jess has left us. I am so sorry for your loss, but his memories and all of the wonderful family he has left on this earth, will keep his spirit alive. My prayers are with you.
Lisa Lotzkar
Su Pereira
November 21, 2005
Suzanne,
It's been years since I last saw you, but wanted to extend my condolences to you and your family. My thoughts and prayers are with you, your mom and brother and each of your families during this difficult time. I hope you are surrounded by good friends, family and wonderful memories. Would love to hear from you when life settles back down.
Dennis and Maralu Craven
November 20, 2005
Received word today about your loss. Susanne worked for me at Curves as well as being my pastors wife. We all love her at Fairlawn Baptist Church and so sorry about your loss. We will pray for you during this time of sorrow. Sincerely,
Dennis and Maralu Craven
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