William T. Prater age 68 of Hillsboro died Saturday, December 31, 2011 at the Halifax Health Hospice Center in Orange City, Florida. He was born June 19, 1943 in Steubenville, Ohio the son of the late William and Jaunita Hileman Prater and was raised by Lewis and Anna Prater Borden who were "Mom" and "Dad". Bill was a licensed funeral director and embalmer and had owned and operated the Prater Funeral Home in Leesburg, Ohio for twenty years. He had also served as a Highland County Deputy Sheriff for twenty-six years, had worked as a licensed x-ray technician at Fayette Memorial Hospital in Washington Court House and was an EMT instrumental in the formation of the original Life Squad in the Leesburg area. He was a graduate of Hillsboro High School, the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science and was a member of the Leesburg Lodge #78 F&AM and the Leesburg Eastern Star Chapter #57 for over twenty-five years.
He is survived by his wife, Lora Ihle Prater whom he had married on August 19, 1967 in Monroe, Ohio, one son, B. G. (Shannon) Prater of Hillsboro, two granddaughters, Kayla Kelley and Kortney Prater, two great granddaughters, Jayda Talbot and Emmalynn Kelley, three sisters, Peggy Shaal of Ohio, Barbara Carlson of Sabina, Betty Barber of Mt. Orab, three half-sisters, Nancy Adkins of Hillsboro, Sandra Prater of Hillsboro, Bonnie Shaffer of Columbus and one half-brother, David Prater of Hillsboro.
A Celebration of Bill’s Life will be held Sunday, January 15th at the Turner Funeral Home (formerly the Prater Funeral Home) in Leesburg. Family and Friends are invited to attend the Leesburg Masonic Lodge Memorial Service at 3:00 p.m. followed immediately by the Celebration of Life officiated by Michael Evans and David Dillon. The family will receive friends on Sunday prior to the services from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the funeral home. For more information or to send condolences to the family please visit www.turnerfuneralhomes.cc