Anthony J. Praxel

1925 - 2018

Anthony (Tony) J. Praxel passed away peacefully on Friday, November 30, 2018 in Natomas, California at age 93. Tony was born to Anthony and Katherine (Johnson) Praxel on July 23, 1925 in the small town of Lamberton, Minnesota. He grew up with two strong interests that would stay with him for the rest of his long life skiing and flying. As a high school senior in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, Tony met his future wife Phyllis Corcoran and joined the Army Air Force. Tony and Phyl married on February 23, 1945 in Los Angeles, CA before Tony left to serve in Guam during the last few months of WWII. He remained in the Air Force Reserve after the war, was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, and decided to make the Air Force his career. In 1952, Tony was assigned to Wheeler AFB in Tripoli, Libya. Phyl and his now four children moved with him for a memory-filled three years abroad. Tony and his growing family also lived in Blaine, WA (Tyndell AFB) and Tacoma, WA (McCord AFB), before moving to Sacramento (McClellan AFB) in 1960. As a radar surveillance specialist, some of Tony's most interesting assignments included serving a year on the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line in Alaska; flying EC-121's on surveillance along the west coast, and serving on Christmas Island during atomic testing in 1962. In 1966-67, Tony served three tours of duty in Vietnam flying radar surveillance over North Vietnam. He retired as a Major from the Air Force in February 1968 after flying over 10,000 hours out of McClellan and receiving numerous Air Force medals. Tony then worked for Skymark Air Lines and Golden West Airlines out of Los Angeles, and ended his working career in 1975 after five years with Federal Express. The Praxel family lived in the Arden area for many years, with the seven children attending St. Philomene's School, Loretto High School and Jesuit High School. After the children left home, Tony and Phyl enjoyed traveling, playing bridge and the growing number of grandchildren. Phyl passed away in January 2001. Tony moved to Heritage Park, Natomas in September 2004 with his good friend, Donna Vercoe. Tony and Donna made many dear friends in Heritage Park with whom they traveled, played bridge, drank cocktails, ate at the Clubhouse, and looked out for each other. After Donna passed away in July 2011, Tony turned his living room into a bar that became a central neighborhood location for a 4:30 cocktail hour. Tony is survived by six of his seven children: Jack (spouse, Jan) Praxel, Trink Praxel (spouse, Don Zimmerman), Patty (spouse, Russ) Smith, Joe (spouse, Trudy) Praxel, Karen Praxel (spouse, Jim Hanks), and Lisa Praxel. His oldest daughter, Sue (spouse Paul) Harling, died in November 2002. He was very proud of each of his 11 "most remarkable" grandchildren, and his 6 great grandchildren. Tony will be buried next to his wife, Phyl, at Calvary Cemetery in Citrus Heights in a small private ceremony on Thursday, December 6, 2018. Special thanks to UC Davis Hospice for their support in the last couple weeks of Tony's life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to UC Davis Hospice at 1460 Drew Ave., Suite 100, Davis, CA 95618. Tony lived and loved life to the fullest, always surrounded by family and good friends. Some of his happiest moments were in the air, on the snow, at the bridge table, and with his signature "Bombay Sapphire on the rocks" in his hand. He will be missed dearly.