Obituary of John Stanley Prach

John Stanley Prach 

93, was born and raised in Albany, New York.  He was the oldest of three children and grew up in a Polish immigrant community during the Great Depression.  John graduated high school a year early from Christian Brothers Academy in Albany, and worked various laborer roles for two years.  He then returned to a public post-graduate school with the objective of earning a college football scholarship and moving beyond the impoverished life he knew as a child.

John’s prowess on the gridiron resulted in 15 football scholarship offers, including one from George Washington University (GWU) where he played all four years and also met his wife, Ellen. He fell in love with her the moment they met.  Their first date was on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, they were engaged that weekend and married the following September (1956).  Shortly thereafter, they began their family life together with the birth of Mark Thomas (1957), Katherine Anne (1958), Susan Teresa (1959) and Michael Robert (1961).  

During his college years, John served in the Naval Reserve officer training program.  After graduation, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Junior Grade.  After completing his active military service, John and Ellen lived in Arlington Virginia, and John was the Assistant Business Manager at GWU where he completed a Master’s Degree in Education.  In 1958, he accepted a job in the West Orange New Jersey School District where he worked until his retirement in 1985.  Most of his career was spent at the High School where he served as a physical education/health teacher, a world cultures/history teacher, an instructor of driver education, as well as multiple athletic coaching roles.  In addition to football, he coached track and field, swimming, and baseball.   

Throughout his life, John had many skills and interests – some quite unique.  While in the Navy, he worked in underwater demolition.  He also completed a course in taxidermy.  He spent time in the high school woodshop after hours making furniture.  He also built a magnificent treehouse that was enjoyed by all the Prach kids and their friends.  Later in life, John made jewelry, crafted weaponry and tools, was an avid tinkerer, and collected stamps, coins, sports cards, postcards and various other forms of memorabilia. 

John never heard a ditty or limerick that he couldn’t repeat.  His recall of historical facts was incomparable, as was his encyclopedic knowledge.  He was witty, creative and often a prankster.  He was most content at home.  His meager upbringing instilled a strong lifelong sense of value for things he lacked during his childhood.  Food was never wasted, and items were never discarded if they could be of future utility, and he always viewed saving as a means of providing for his family.  He took great joy in finding treasures for his family in unconventional places, such as garage sales and the town recycling lot.  “Pickup Week” was his favorite time of the year.  

From his humble beginnings in Upstate New York, John’s family legacy now spans two countries (U.S. and Canada) with relatives in Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ontario and Nova Scotia. He was the first member of his family to attend college, and every Prach child and grandchild since has attended college.  

At the time of his death, in addition to his wife (Ellen) and four children (Mark, Kathy, Susan and Michael), John is survived by his nine grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.  He was devoted to his family and will be long remembered as a self-made man.