AKRON - JoAnn Prater, 70, of 318 E. 4th. St., Rochester, went to be with the Lord at 1:17 a.m. May 28, 2010, surrounded by family at her residence.
She was born April 9, 1940, in Prestonsburg, Ky., to Edgar and Eva Adams Smith. On June 29, 1962, in Silver Lake, she married A.C. Prater, who survives in Rochester.
She first worked at Blue Bell for 18 years. She also owned and operated the Akron Cafe for nine years as well as working at Peabody Retirement Community and then retiring from Da-Lite Screening in 2005. She lived in the Rochester and Akron area all of her life. She was a member of the Gospel Hill Pentecostal Church, Silver Lake, where she devoted many years of service.
Also surviving are her mother, Eva Smith, Rochester; a daughter, Patty (and spouse William Leon) Cunningham, Akron; a granddaughter, Tiffany (and spouse Scott) Cooksey, Akron; three grandsons, B.J. (and spouse Hillary), Chad and Derrick Cunningham, all of Akron; a great-granddaughter, Kylie Cunningham, Akron; a great-grandson, Ian Cooksey, Akron; five sisters: Joyce Vance and Lynda (and spouse Ted) Richard, all of Rochester; Janice (and spouse Gary) Howes, Salyersville, Ky.; Sharon (and spouse David) Randall, Silver Lake; and Lisa (and spouse Pastor Frank) Whitaker, Akron; five brothers: James Smith, Warsaw; Ronnie (and spouse Linda) Smith, Burket; Russell (and spouse Rita) Smith and Michael (and spouse Julie) Smith, all of Akron; Keith (and spouse Sheila) Smith, Sidney; three sisters-in-law: Ella (and spouse Lawrence) Manns and Ethel Prater, all of Warsaw; Audrey Prater, Wendover, Ky.; 15 nieces, 20 nephews, 25 great-nieces, 19 great-nephews, six great-great-nieces and eight great-great-nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Edgar Lee Smith, who died in 1990; two brothers, Gary and Donald Smith; a sister-in-law, Murline Smith; a nephew, Darrell Howes; a father-in-law, Harry Prater, who died in 1964; a mother-in-law, Polly Prater, who died in 1994; a sister-in-law, Virginia Rawlins, who died in 1991; two brothers-in-law, Monroe Prater and Orville Prater, both died in 2010.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Gospel Hill Pentecostal Church, Silver Lake, with the Rev. Thomas Branhan and Pastors Frank Whitaker and Terry Bradford officiating. Burial will be at Rochester IOOF Cemetery.
Calling is from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the church, 303 S. Jefferson St., Silver Lake.
Hartzler Funeral Home, 305 W. Rochester St., Akron, is in charge of the arrangements.
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Memorials to Hope Hospice of Fulton County.
Send online condolences via www.hartzlerfuneralservices.com
