George R. Pruitt

1960 - 2016

Pruitt, George R.,

passed away after a lengthy illness on June 20, 2016 in Nagoya, Japan.

George was born in Louisville in 1960, and was a graduate of St. Xavier High School, going on to graduate Magna Cum Laude when he received his A.B. from Harvard College, where he studied classical languages and literature and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a John Harvard Scholar. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, studied for two years as a Rotary Scholar at the University of Kyoto (Graduate Faculty of Law) and received his M.Ed. in Education from the University of Cincinnati. He received a special award (2013) from the Governor of Aichi Prefecture (Japan) for his contributions to education in Japanese private schools.

He has served as Headmaster of his current school, Nagoya International Junior and Senior High School, a private Japanese and IB World School for the past fifteen years. He has published books and articles about educational topics as well as short stories in various literary magazines. He has also studied and helped to archive Native American languages in the Iroquois family such as Oneida, Tuscarora, Mohawk, Seneca and Onondaga.

The time George had on earth was pungent and full, and he would offer this as guidance:

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die" (Thomas Campbell).

George was more than a list of accomplishments, he was a philosopher and lived his life to teach and to learn. He was truly a gift to all who crossed his path, and would impart his love of music, especially the Grateful Dead, and specifically "Cosmic Charlie."

George is survived by many friends, colleagues, peers, fellow writers and of course his loving family: his wife Qian, daughter Kayleigh, son Colum Pruitt all of Japan, his daughters Cassandra and Anastasia Pruitt of Ithaca, New York, his mother Delores Pruitt, brother Christopher (Melissa) Pruitt all of Louisville, sister Kelly (Robin) Hinderman of Troy, Ohio. He was preceded in death by his sister Lisabeth Pruitt and his father G. Rayburn Pruitt.

In lieu of flowers please make any donations in George's memory to St. Xavier High School Scholarship fund or to the de Paul Society of Louisville, care of Sister Anne Rita Mauck. A memorial service will be held at a later date.