Obituaries: Edward Joseph Prauss (July 4, 1925 – April 28, 2011)

Edward Joseph Prauss was  born July 4, 1925, in Dickinson, N. D. He died  peacefully on April 28, 2011, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka, Calif. Ed’s father, Joseph, died of tuberculosis when he was a very young boy. Soon after Ed and his mother, sister, and brother came west to look for work. Ed soon assumed  the role of head of their family and  took on responsibilities far beyond his years. He often boarded out to farms as a worker providing his mother with one less mouth to feed. These early lessons in unbreakable work ethics and unbending dedication to family would be the cornerstones of the way Ed lived the rest of his life.          

Ed took great pride in the years he honorably served his country in the European and Pacific theaters of World War II. Soon after returning home from the war, Ed met and married Maxine Billings, the woman he would happily spend the next 64 years with.

Ed became a successful logger  in Northern California during the era when logging was a booming part of the economy. Logging provided Ed and his extended family members a future of  prosperity and stability that was undreamed of in the Great Depression years of their youth. Ed never forgot the pain and difficult lessons learned from going hungry during those hard times. Even as he had successes and comforts in his adult life, he remained sensitive and generous to family, friends, acquaintances, charities and even strangers in need. Ed had a giving spirit and a great place in his heart for people who were down on their luck.

Ed and Maxine raised two daughters, Laurie and Shirley. Both daughters will forever be grateful for their parents’ rich and boundless love that allowed them  to become all that they wanted to be. Ed firmly felt his daughters should be strong-minded women who could provide for themselves. Going to college was a goal instilled  from their earliest memories. Ed highly valued education and was very supportive and  proud that both of his daughters and all three of his grandchildren were college graduates.

Once Ed’s grandchildren were born, he would forever be known as “Papa.” Papa was always the best at building swings and carving wooden swords for his adored granddaughters and grandson. Week-long stays at Nana and Papa’s house throughout their childhoods are treasured memories for Kristen, Kacey and Ethan.

Ed valued family above all else and was a strong center of unconditional love and support for his family. His mighty spirit, his unbreakable will, his generosity, and his values will continue on in the hearts and minds of those who love him. Papa’s strong spirit is now free from his weakened body.

He was preceded in death by his wife Maxine and his brother George Prauss. He is survived by his daughters Laurie Edgington and Shirley Miller and her husband Stephen, his grandchildren Ethan Miller and his wife Raeni, Kristen Taylor and  her husband Mark, Kacey Beye and her husband Eric, his loving sisters Millie Sargent and her husband Fred, Verla Borges, his brother Melvin Hamner, his great-grandchildren Kenya, Karina and Kacey Taylor and Grace Beye, and many more extended family members. There will be a family celebration of Ed and Maxine’s lives in June.

— Submitted by Family