John Lynn Pryde

John Lynn Pryde was born November 30, 1962, in Lovell, Wyoming. His early life was filled with tremendous challenges-poverty, dyslexia, and an unstable home life. But he also had a loving grandmother and a lot of determination to do better. He had a talent for sports, especially basketball, and he was proud to be on the team that won the 1982 Montana State Class C championship. He managed to graduate from high school despite living on his own by working whatever odd jobs he could find.
He joined the Montana National Guard after graduating and attended Eastern Montana College (now Montana State University at Billings). He was seriously injured during summer National Guard duty during his junior year. This injury ended his plan of a military career, but he then crossed paths with Tara Miller. Six weeks later, they were engaged, and they married the following year.
After earning his bachelor's degree, the couple moved to the Washington, DC, area. John's career began in earnest while working for Columbia Research Corporation, a government contractor for the Seawolf submarine. He then went to Technology Management Services, a Department of Energy contractor. He also earned his MBA from the University of Maryland by diligently attending evening classes.
In 1994, John and Tara relocated to the St. Paul Minneapolis area, where John worked for a division of Northwest Airlines and then US Bank. Their first daughter, Torey, was born during their time in Minnesota.
In 2001, the Prydes moved to San Antonio, Texas, when John was hired by H-E-B. It was then that John earned his IAPP certification in Privacy, when the field was in its infancy. He became HEB's Privacy Officer. John and Tara expanded their family with the addition of daughter, Jessica, in 2001 and son, Adam, in 2005.
John continued his career with Koch Industries in Wichita, KS. He then returned to Texas to become the Privacy Officer for Texas A&M University, where he served as Assistant Vice President for Compliance. His work gave him great satisfaction, but his joy was his family. Nothing brought him greater happiness than spending time with his wife and children.
John had a wonderful sense of humor, an unerring moral compass, and a love for learning. He was passionate about tanks, movies, rare steaks, the Boston Celtics (especially the Larry Bird era), the Minnesota Vikings, and all things Marvel and DC. He also enjoyed tackling home improvement projects with Tara.
John was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in November, and Amylodosis was diagnosed a month later. The diseases were incurable, but he fought them with everything he had. He returned home after a month-long hospital stay and, unexpectedly, succumbed to heart failure that very day. His family takes comfort in knowing that he was called home to his Heavenly Father in his own home and surrounded by his loving family.
He is survived by his bride of 37 years, Tara; daughter, Torey; daughter, Jessica (and future son in law, Cort); and son, Adam; and his beloved mother-in-law, Beverly Miller; his sister, Sarahjane; and dogs, Simba and Nala. He was pre deceased by his parents and grandparents.