He was the son of the late Benjamin “Doc” Pritchett and Iona Williams Pritchett. Mr. Pritchett was preceded in death by his parents Doc and Iona, his sisters Velma Rachels and Thelma Geiger; his brothers: Roy Pritchett, Doug Pritchett, Heyward Pritchett, Rex Pritchett, and Edward Pritchett.
Mr. Pritchett is survived by his loving wife Barbara Barr Pritchett; his children: Patsy Pritchett, Harold “Ray” Pritchett, Jr. (Lori), Ginger Land (Mark), and Norma Kernels (Bill); his grandchildren: Austin Kernels (Tiffany), Ashley Bays (Levi), Harold Ray “Trey” Pritchett III (Marian), and Blake Pritchett (Hannah); his great grandchildren: Noah, Kylie, Bellamy and Parker; his brother Tommy Pritchett; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.
Mr. Pritchett’s life, like many others, was filled with events and circumstances that molded him. As a young boy born in Cataula, GA, he lived through the Great Depression. He watched as two older brothers went off to serve in World War II and recalled what that did to his family. His encyclopedic memory of stories about neighbors supporting each other, Christmas gifts shared with siblings, and the day Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, all serve as a glimpse of what it took to build this kind of man. Years later as the owner of Cataula Grocery, he was able to love and serve the local community as a businessman who would extend lines of credit to families long before the days of credit cards. Mr. Pritchett also spent many years in the insurance industry, which was the main way he supported his family of six.
As a husband, he loved and cared for his wife Barbara for over 64 years. They had all of the successes and failures that a life together could bring. They were a team in the good times and bad. They enjoyed family meals at the table with the kids, visits to friends and families houses on Sunday afternoons, and watching their children grow to become adults who continued to love and honor their parents. For the last decade of their life together, Mr. Pritchett modeled for all around him to see, what their vows “in sickness and in health” meant to him. He loved, adored, and cared for every need of his very best friend as beautifully as a person could do. He was a true picture of a man after God’s own heart.
Over the years of watching his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren grow, he could be found serving and worshipping at church. Different seasons of his life carried him from Grace Baptist to Glenn Anthony Baptist, to Beallwood Baptist Church, where he filled a variety of roles throughout his life. He was also a very familiar face at any ballfield that had one of his kids playing at it and was a voice of encouragement from the stands for every kid on the field. He loved with his whole heart and was deliberate in sharing kindness with others. Anyone who knew him and had any opportunity to spend time with him knew that love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control were evident in his life. Everyone was better by knowing him because of his earthly example of God’s love.
A visitation for family and friends will be held on Sunday, December 19, 2021 at Striffler-Hamby Mortuary in the chapel from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM. A service to celebrate his life will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, December 20, 2021 at Grace Baptist Church, 2915 14th St. Columbus, GA 31904. Reverend Billy Duncan and Pastor Seth Hon will be officiating. Serving as Pallbearers will be Mark Land, Bill Kernels, Austin Kernels, Trey Pritchett, Blake Pritchett, Levi Bays, and Cliff Robinson. Honorary Pallbearers will be Wayne Robinson, Lee Railey, Lane Jimmerson, Steve Cooper, and Bobby Cooper.
Memorial may be made to Columbus Hospice, www.columbushospicehouse.com or Ronald McDonald House www.rmhc.org.
