There were many David Prenskys.
There was the classical music devotee and popular preconcert lecturer. The advocate for the arts and tireless booster of the Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts. The ardent Democrat and campaigner for a universal health-care system. The devoted husband who wrote a poem for his beloved Bryna nearly every day of their 50-year marriage.
Henry David Prensky died today, of complications from emphysema at Hospice of Palm Beach County at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis. He was 90.
Dr. Prensky, who preferred his middle name, was born Dec. 5, 1917, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He learned to love classical music from his mother and studied piano as a child.
He married June Kamen in 1936, and the couple had two children. Unlike his brother, Bertram Ross, who became an acclaimed dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, David Prensky opted to become a dentist like his father to better support his young family.
Dr. Prensky served as a ship's dentist in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater during World War II.
After the war, he settled in the Miami area, where he integrated classical music into his dental practice by playing it to relax his patients.
He and his wife divorced. He married artist Bryna Raskin in 1952. "She was absolutely the love of his life," said Anne Driver De Moore, Dr. Prensky's assistant .
The couple fell in love with Mexico during a delayed honeymoon in 1954 and relocated to Mexico City.
In Mexico, David Prensky developed a thriving dental practice whose clients included members of the British embassy, while Bryna Prensky opened a gallery showing contemporary Mexican art. Dr. Prensky arranged to have most of his wife's collection, which was shown at The Society of the Four Arts, donated to the Naples Museum of Art after her death in 2002.
The Prenskys became seasonal residents of Palm Beach in the mid-1970s and permanent residents in 1984.
Retirement opened a new chapter in Dr. Prensky's life. He threw his prodigious energies into supporting groups such as the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, the Palm Beach Festival and the fledgling Palm Beach County Council of the Arts, the forerunner of the Palm Beach County Cultural Council.
He put his extensive recordings collection and seemingly inexhaustible fund of musical anecdotes to use as a lecturer for organizations such as the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, the Society of the Four Arts and Regional Arts.
"We always considered him sort of an elder-statesman professor who helped our audiences really enjoy and appreciate the programs they were coming to see," said Judith Mitchell, the Kravis Center's chief executive officer.
Dr. Prensky's charm and persistence served him well in the many causes he supported. It was difficult to say no to David Prensky.
"He was a man of deep convictions, deep passions and deep compassion," said his son, William Prensky.
"To know him was to love him," said longtime friend Lily Rovin of Palm Beach.
Dr. Prensky was in the advance guard of the drives to build the Kravis Center and the Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts in West Palm Beach.
"He clearly played a major role in my deciding to support the school of the arts," said Alexander Dreyfoos, who donated $1 million to the school's foundation, which Dr. Prensky helped start.
"He just was the life force here," said Pat Montesino, executive director of the School of the Arts Foundation. "He lived and breathed this school and the work of the foundation. He considered every student here his child."
Dr. Prensky's efforts for the school included setting up visual arts and music libraries and establishing annual scholarships for graduating visual arts and music majors. The school's orchestra rehearsal hall is named in his honor.
Dr. Prensky served on the board of the Etta Res Institute of New Dimensions at Palm Beach Community College, where he lectured on music and organized symposiums on current events.
On the political front, he helped found the Palm Beach Democratic Club and was its program chairman.
As a founding member of Floridians for Health Care, Dr. Prensky joined in the victorious battle to keep Good Samaritan and St. Mary's medical centers open.
Dr. Prensky battled for health-care reform into the final weeks of his life, when he campaigned from his sick bed for the adoption of single-payer national health insurance.
Dr. Prensky is survived by his son; a daughter, Catherine Prensky Mason of New York City; three grandchildren, Joel Mason of Wisconsin, and Josh Mason and James Regan of New York City; and three great-grandchildren.
Information about services and donations is not yet available.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Brian Patrick Moore
November 17, 2020
I write this note in 2020 even though I only knew David Prensky from the year 2000 until his death in 2008, when working together to promote a comprehensive health plan for all Floridians. David was a like a divine force and a presence that I have never seen before. He was relentless in his efforts for mankind; and was a man of fearless principle and fierce integrity. He stood for what was right and true, many times, alone, and was courageous in his beliefs despite public opinion the other way. He is still in my thoughts and continues to be a more-than-life inspiration despite his earthly passing. God bless his eternal soul.
July 9, 2017
I worked for Dr Prensky in Miani Beach Florida. as his dental assistant..I loved working with him and playing the records for his patients...I met his wife and father in those days...1950's.....rest in peace...Rita Hauben Albert..
Lily Bondy
October 5, 2008
To the family of David Prensky,
David was and always will be the very best of men. I will miss him.
One of his devoted students and friends,
Lily Bondy
constance rudy
September 19, 2008
To the family of Dr. Prensky:
Thank you for sharing this very special Renaissance gentleman with the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. Dr. Prensky gave his loyalty and a piece of his heart to the school
as a force in the foundation for over a decade
and a half. He will be missed.
James and Leslie Elder
September 17, 2008
Although we knew David for only a brief period of time, the impact on our lives cannot be measured. He touched our hearts. He opened his home and his life, to two strangers, Leslie and I. He invited my daughter to lunch at his home after learning that she is a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company, the company that his beloved brother, Bertram, was known to be the best leading male principle dancer. David was an incredible man and his inspiration will stay with us always. He was a pleasure to be with and all of our memories of him will be treasured forever.
Larry Stauber
September 17, 2008
I was greatly privileged to have known and worked with Dr. Prensky for several years. I admired him enormously -- his energy, his passion, his sweetness, his seemingly endless knowledge of all things and his limitless compassion for the little person. His last great crusade was on behalf of single payer universal health care. He fought that good fight with his typical energy, intelligence, farsightedness and determination. It was a great joy for me to have known this "man for all seasons."
Simon Offit
September 17, 2008
My good friend David Prensky encouraged me to get involved with the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in 1997. His enthusiastic vision for the Dreyfoos School was so compelling that I quickly found myself swept up in it and went on to chair the Board of Directors as well as many significant fundraising campaigns on behalf of the school. Thanks to his leadership and guidance, I have been given the privilege of working with the talented teachers, administrators and, of course, the phenomenal student body of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. David was an institution in himself. He will be greatly missed.
Simon Benson Offit, Chairman
School of the Arts Foundation
Joan and Gerard Davis
September 17, 2008
David Prensky was especially loved as a Grandpa and Great Grandpa. His happy memory will be kept alive for many generations. With love and prayers,
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