Becky Fisher Eulogy

Joe Pratt a friend, a mentor, a leader

First, I must convey to Joe’s family that our hearts and prayers are with you during this time.  Also thank you for sharing Joe with all of us, he made such an impact on so many. While he is not physically here, he lives on in all of us. Today we celebrate and remember the life of Joe, an extraordinary individual, a mentor, a colleague, a husband, a dad, grandpa, and most of all a friend.

To start I want to give you the definition of a servant-leader. And I want you to keep this in mind as you think about Joe. A servant-leader is deﬁned as someone who focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is diﬀerent. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others ﬁrst, and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. This was Joe Pratt.

My name is Becky Fisher. I got to know Joe through my leadership in Circle K. From District Secretary to International Secretary, I could always count on Joe to be there as a sounding board, for an honest opinion and for advice.  I remember when I ﬁrst met Joe after being elected District Secretary.  I was totally intimidated.  This bearded Kiwanian who had an intense look on his face and at that point was ready to get down to business who had a million questions for the new board but none of us had the answers yet. I quickly found out that intense look would go away, and you could count on that smile, a joke, or a hug when you needed one. He was not only great as District Administrator, but mentor and friend you could always count on.  And at that point in the early 90s a lifelong friendship began.  A year after serving as District Secretary I was elected Governor; I was his last Governor.  Joe gave us the structure but let us decide the pieces. He provided the tools for success.

One example of his hands oﬀ style was when I was Governor of the Lamisstenn District of Circle K, we took the initiative to plan the sister district social to take place at the CKI International Convention to be held in Baltimore that year.  The night convention started after the opening ceremony we always did a sister district social with Alabama and Kentucky-Tennessee.  Usually, it was just pizza and music in a room at the hotel or an outing like a baseball game or an amusement park. Well, there was nowhere to go in Baltimore that late in the evening and my board had some big ideas. The idea they all agreed on did include pizza, but it also included a party on a yacht on the Baltimore Inner Harbor.  A yacht that would hold about 50-75 people.  We knew we would have to convince Joe and the Alabama & K-T Governors & Administrators to let us charter this large luxury yacht and that was going to be a mountain to climb.  We pulled the details together and pitched it to Joe ﬁrst then the other districts. I really think Joe didn’t think we would get enough people to make it happen as he asked a lot of questions and posed a lot of “What ifs.”  The Alabama was all for it, but K-T was unsure and could not commit to a number.  In the end they all agreed and we moved forward. Well, prior to the convention we sold out of spaces on the yacht. The yacht pulled up at the dock in front of the convention hotel and we all loaded on the boat for food, fun and ﬁreworks on the inner harbor. 

As we were getting oﬀ the boat, he walked up next to me and expressed that he was  proud of what we had put together. While this just sounds like an event we put together, we were college kids planning an event for people in four diﬀerent states on a million-dollar yacht that we really had no business being on.    The lessons learned from Joe while in Circle K were not taught in college.  We were given hands-on experience on how to run an organization.  Lessons and experience that could be applied later in our professional lives after college.  Craig Kelly, Past District Governor, reminded me of some of the quirky things Joe did that paid oﬀ.  Especially one that he felt gave us a leg up for International Recognition.  He said it was the use of Subliminal Marketing, LOL!  He had extra Lamisstenn District CKI promo cups from District Convention.  When he would box up all the district award packages to send oﬀ to Circle K International prior to International Convention he would include a stash of cups from convention.  His thought was they would open the box and sit the cups aside and end up using them when judging awards for drinks.  So if you were judging all the submissions and drinking out of a Lamisstenn cup you might be more apt to remember our submissions over others.  Hmmm.  We did win a lot of Distinguished District, Governor, Secretary/Treasurer and Lt. Governor awards during those years. But if you think about it, in business we use it every day.  Both Craig and I can atest that we through the companies and organizations we worked for ordered countless pens and promotion materials from Joe to do this very same thing. Craig providing materials to law enforcement agencies to remind them of the genetics testing lab he started with out of college.  And me to convince Alumnae of a Catholic High School in the area to increase their annual fund donation in exchange for a high-end ink pen.  Joe also stepped back and let us dream and plan.  You see Joe genuinely cared about our success and showed us how to be the best we could be.  He let us make decisions and decide the direction we wanted to take the organization.  Things like where did we want to build new clubs, what did we want to cover at the Fall Training Conference known as Toga in Tioga and how did we want to motivate and educate our existing membership.  He understood that Circle K was a student run organization and sometimes he had to put up with our conversations about what color toga we were going to wear for Fall Training Conference or what DJ we could get for the dance at Convention.  As I look back now it is amazing, we didn’t all drive him crazy.  Arriving late to board training, a car breaking down in the middle of a weeklong Governor Tour through Mississippi and Tennessee, a Hurricane Party that left a red ring in the tub at a convention hotel, middle of the night phone calls from current and former board members after a weekend college party. I think he saw it all. He had the gift of the gab and a part of him was just a big college kid himself which made him perfect for the role he played.
 He would listen and interject with questions when he thought we should rethink something or get us to the right answer.  He was also not afraid to let go of the reigns and let us learn. Because of this we all walked away from Circle K with invaluable experience and knowledge of how to lead, how to serve and give back to our community as well as how to organize and plan all of which would beneﬁt us for life.  In talking with Oliver Yandle, former Circle K International President, he expressed this as well and credit’s Joe with his professional success. Former  Governor Craig Kelly expressed that Joe helped to build a generation of leaders and individuals through his work with Circle K. Craig also remembers the many meals he had with Joe and Sue in their home during his days as Circle K Governor. You see he also took a personal interest in our lives. He took time to make sure we had everything we needed even if it was a meal. Over the years Joe and Sue treated many of us to a home cooked meal, which meant a lot to a college student who may not have family in the area. Papa Joe and Tater Lady always welcomed us into their home, and you always left well fed. Sue shared that not long ago the two of them had a conversation about Circle K and Joe said the work he had done with Circle K was the proudest of his life.  That was awesome to hear as I feel he had so much to be proud of. We were all proud of him as well.  There were things you could always count on with Joe.  He was always at his weekly Kiwanis meeting unless he was out of town, if he and his buddy from New Jersey Bruce the Moose could pull one over on you they would (like when he ﬁlled Circle K International Administrator Gayle Beyers Webb’s shoes with Whip Cream prior to her rushing out for a meeting) and if it was November he was going to be in Arkansas at the camp hunting. Joe lived a full life.  He has a beautiful family, was successful in business, has friends all over the world and most importantly found the things in life that made him whole.  He truly cared about his community and the people he served with in Kiwanis and Circle K. It all goes back to servant-leadership.  It was this that made Joe successful at all he was involved.   Papa Joe saw potential in all he was involved in.  He lived life to the fullest; he did the things he loved with the people he loved and cared about.  We will all miss him but can be comforted that he accomplished so much, left a last impression on so many and he got to go on that last hunting trip leaving us doing something he really loved and brought him much happiness. We will always love and miss him but his spirit will live on through many!


Lenny Simmons Eulogy 
 
I have known Joe for nearly 35 years. We were both Kiwanians but more importantly we were best friends. There were many things that we had in common in Kiwanis. We had both been Club Presidents, Lt. Governors, Circle K District Administrators, and chairs of the Kiwanis International Convention. In 2002, Joe was appointed PAC chair and was instrumental in getting me elected as a Kiwanis International Trustee. Joe continued in that role and helped four other Kiwanians get elected International Trustee from our District. Yes, Joe was well known in the Kiwanis world and was well respected by all. 
 
But the most thing that I will miss is our friendship. Joe was a very likable, compassionate, and kind person. I don’t know anyone who didn’t like Joe Pratt. For the last 10 years, we would get together every few weeks and catch up on what was going on in our lives: Kiwanis, family, the latest medical problems, and so on. We met at Puccino’s Coffee House for a couple of hours drinking hot vanilla lattes and discussing anything and everything. One of my hobbies is Genealogy- researching family history for my friends. I convinced Joe to let me research his and Sue’s family trees, and was quite excited to find Joe’s twelfth great grandfather, William Pratt, born in 1468 in England, as well as his fourth great grandfather, John Pratt, who fought in the Revolutionary War.  When I told Joe he could apply for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution, he respectfully declined. But the most exciting thing that I discovered was in Sue’s family tree. Sue’s fifth cousin twice removed was none other than Elvis Presley! Sue was thrilled and the only thing that Joe could say with a smile, was that he married up in life when he married Sue. 
 
By now I’m sure you’ve have read the beautiful tribute to Joe’s life. In his 79 years, Joe worked hard, raised a family, spoiled his grandsons, and did community service through Kiwanis.Joe had a wonderful life well lived. 
 
Let me share with you, one of my favorite poems: “The Dash” by Linda Ellis. 
 
“I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning to the end.  He noted first came the date of the birth and spoke the following date with tears. But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between the years.  
 
 For that dash represents all the time that they spent life on Earth.  And now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.  
 
 For it matters not how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash.  What matters is how we live and love, and how we spend our dash.  
 
 So, think about this long and hard. Are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.  If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real, and always try to understand the way other people feel. 
 
 Be less quick to anger and show appreciation more, and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before. If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile, remembering that this special dash might only last a little while. 
 
 So, when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?” 
 
******** 
 
Everyone in this room has been affected with how Joe lived his “Dash,” and is a better person for it.  Joe, I will miss you, my dear, dear friend. 
 


Lauren Call Eulogy

Joe was inducted as member of the Kiwanis Club of Lakeside on March 18, 1983.  He served in many roles in Kiwanis including Club President, Club Treasurer, Lieutenant Governor, PAC Chair, UNO Circle K Kiwanis Advisor, and Circle K District Administrator (his most treasured among all the roles).  For more than half my life, I have seen Joe most Friday mornings at our Kiwanis meeting.  Our club was our Kiwanis family and like with most families there was some picking and prodding. Joe always had a great sense of humor, even if sometimes he was the butt of the joke. Joe didn’t mind being the butt of the joke as long as it wasn’t mean spirited and everyone was laughing. Like when no one would let him forget about making enough broccoli cheese casserole to feed 100 for a party of 25.
I met Joe just over 25 years ago as a newly minted Circle K member when I started attending Lakeside’s meetings. Looking back on that time as I wrote this, I came to realize Joe was only 53 at the time. This blew my mind because as an 18-year-old, I thought he was much older than that.  I called two of my Circle K friends and both agreed they surely thought he was older too. One went on to say she really thought he was 70ish for the past 20 years. I can hear Joe’s snappy comeback echoing in my head saying “Well hell I thought you were 10.” Our club will miss that. We will miss Joe and Sandy picking at one another and all the laughter that would ensue from his many Joeisms.

I vividly remember a club game night where we were playing guesstures. Joe’s word was Flamingo.  He earnestly tried to imitate a flamingo by standing on one foot, bending and raising his other leg, and bending his arms to be like wings.  We all were in stitches laughing at him and having a hard time guessing because we were laughing too hard. This earned him the nickname Flamingo Joe.

Joe had a great joy about him.  Recently, I had felt that in a different way as he was watching my son grow.  He looked forward to seeing him at our Kiwanis meeting and taking pictures of him so he could show Ms. Sue how big he was getting. He constantly told me how beautiful he is and how he was always so good at our meetings.  I spoke to him 4-5 days before his passing and we were supposed to meet up when he got back in town.  He asked about Finn and once again told me how great that boy is. Finn was never scared of Joe, even though Joe would joke and say he was a scary man with his bushy beard.  I’m sad Finn won’t have the opportunity to get to know Joe better, but I know Joe will watch over my baby.

Joe has been such a large part of our Kiwanis Family and I cannot imagine our club without him.  He was such a guiding force during my time in Circle K and especially during my term as Governor. We didn’t always agree and sometimes he would fuss at me and make me cry, but I know it was coming from a place of love.  Ms. Sue would take up for me and fuss at him saying “Joe, stop making that child cry.” All I can say is I know he will be missed not just by our club, but by the many Kiwanis members in our District and International.  There have been many Facebook comments about Joe joining his Kiwanis Brother Bruce and the hijinks that would ensue in Heaven.  Having experienced their earthly hijinks, I can only imagine the havoc they will bring. We miss Joe and truly feel his loss.

Lloyd Pratt Eulogy for his Father

On behalf of my family, I wanted to say first how grateful we are to see you all here today. It gives us all heart to know that my father had—and that we have—so many supportive friends and family. 

You’ll hear in just a moment from my father’s Kiwanis and Circle K friends, who’ll tell you I’m sure about his years of service and his role in the wider community. 

I thought I would use my bit of time to say a few words about his role in the little community that was and is our family. My parents moved with us to New Orleans in 1971 from Arkansas, when I was four and my sister was three. We had many loving and generous neighbors on North Woodlawn, some of them here today and most of them native New Orleanians. They invited us into their homes and they taught us how to live in this very special and sometimes slightly confusing city. We really were a neighborhood. 

At the same time, we were a small family—just the four of us. Like many small families moving to a new place, then and now, my parents worked hard, they worked long hours, and they did not have grandparents or siblings around to help out with the childcare. The neighbors were always there in an emergency, but for the day-to-day stuff, they were on their own. They had two small children to feed and school tuition to pay, so for several years, my father worked days at a business forms company called Standard Register and my mother worked nights at the GAF photo processing plant out in Kenner. Each night just before dinner, my mother would get into her car; back down the driveway; honk a couple of times as we waved goodbye; and head to the plant. We were little kids—maybe six and seven or so—and it was hard to say goodbye each night. But as my mom’s car pulled away, my dad gave us dinner, let us watch half an hour of television, and then put us to bed. He stood in the doorway as I “said my prayers” each night, then turned off the light and moved to my sister’s room to do the same. 

About ten years ago, my sister and I were sitting around and talking about those times, when I revealed what I thought was going to be a big and maybe upsetting surprise to Ada about the special treatment I received as the first-born child. 

In truth, the story I just told you about the order of events each evening—dinner, TV, prayers, lights out—isn’t exactly accurate, even though it was the story Ada and I had been sharing for years. 

Here’s the real story:

I have never been a great sleeper, not even when I was seven years old. I found it hard to say goodbye to my mom each night as she went to work. I often struggled with nightmares, and my dad knew all this. So at least a couple of times a week, after I said my prayers, he would whisper instructions in my ear. He would walk next door to my sister’s bedroom, stand in the door, and, as she said her prayers, he would give me a signal to make a break for it. After he turned out her bedroom lights, he would meet me in the living room. To soothe me and comfort me as I struggled to sleep, he would set up a little bed for me on the living room sofa. I would lie there next to him while he watched Mannix or Barnaby Jones or Kojak or Mission Impossible or whatever it was he was watching that night. Sometimes he would make a carrot cake. Sometimes he would go full country and break out the fried baloney and fried biscuits. We would play a special game he invented called “boxes” that used the leftover forms he sold for Standard Register. After I had finally fallen asleep, he would pick me up, carry me back to my room, put me to bed, and cover me up. It was such a sweet and such a gentle thing to do, especially for a man of his generation. I always thought of it as my special time with him. 

After I finished explaining all of this to my sister, she smiled, and then she laughed a little, and then she said: “He did the same thing with me.” And it finally clicked: I don’t know if he had us on a fixed rotation—Ada on Mondays and Wednesdays, Lloyd on Tuesdays and Thursdays—or whether we were on a random shuffle, but all that time, he had been looking out for both of us. He would let one of us sit up with him one night, and the other another night. 

In a funny way, knowing this ultimately did not make my memory of the experience feel any less special to me. It made me appreciate him even more. All those years, he had been working overtime as a father to make sure that both of us had special time with him, that both of us felt we had his undivided attention, and that both of us felt deeply and fully loved. 

My father expressed his love for us in ways that made each of us—my mother, my sister, and me—feel special. One Christmas it was a giant stuffed buffalo for my sister that nobody knew was coming. Another it was some toys we desperately wanted that he had done some backroom deal with the K&B manager to secure. There was also the year when, after all the presents had been opened, he told my mother to look on the tree for one more hidden box, which turned out to be a special diamond ring none of us had known about or expected.

My father was an avid sportsman. He loved hunting and he loved watching sports. I did not and I still do not love hunting. I don’t mind sports, but they were never my thing. 

When I was a kid, I tried Little League Baseball and basketball over at Cleary Playground. My dad tried to teach me how to shoot and bat and all the other things that people playing sports like to do. I was hopeless, and I think we all knew it pretty quickly. As much as my dad loved sports, though, he never made me feel I had disappointed him because I couldn’t catch or pass to save my life. In fact, when my sister and I joined the all-encompassing world of the marching band at John Curtis, you would have thought that I was the starting quarterback. 

During the band years, he and my mother trekked far and wide to see us during halftime shows and at band competitions. There were also the long cold nights of parade season when we marched in the Metairie parades—Ada in the color guard and me in the band. We started at Clearview Mall, headed down Veterans, turned at Severn, where we usually got jumped by some kids from a school we had beat in football, and ended up in the Breaux Mart parking lot over near Bonnabel. Often my mother would walk with us as one of our escorts. Dad would come pick all three of us up after those parades, and he would have hot chilli dogs waiting for us at the end of a very long night.

Like many fathers and sons, my father and I had a complicated relationship. One thing that was never complicated was the question of whether my dad loved me, my husband Karl, my sister, her husband Barry, or his grandsons Avery and Quinn. Most especially, there was never any question that he loved my mother. Those two would walk across hot coals for each other—and occasionally they did. Joe Pratt’s love for Sue Pratt was deep and it was unending. 

And If Joe Pratt loved you, you knew it, because he always told you. I haven’t lived in Louisiana since 1990, which means most of my adult relationship with my father has been over the phone or during visits that always seemed too short. Every single time we said goodbye, whether after a short phone call, or a longer visit, or even a brief text exchange, my Dad said “I love you.” And he meant it. It was not just a routine or something he said. He meant it. 

My father taught me that it was important to love and just as important to make your love known. It is a lesson I carry with me every day and for which I will be forever grateful.


Joe was an amazing Kiwanian, leader and mentor. His energy, sense of humor and commitment to Kiwanis and Circle K were legendary. I consider him an important mentor! My condolences to the family. 

Delaine Swenson, Circle K International President 1986-87

Sue and Family,

Jeri and I are so sorry for your loss and the untimely death of a great Kiwanis servant leader.

I first me Joe when I was Key Club administrator for Ohio.  We connected at administrator conferences and KI conventions.  We shared many wonderful experiences with Circle K and Key Club members.

Jeri and I were so pleased that Joe was our convention chair for the 2012 KI convention we would host in New Orleans.

We travelled to New Orleans many times to plan this event.  We had to overcome a number of challenges for this convention, but Joe was the little engine that could, and he made sure that the convention would be a memorable experience for those attending.  In fact, this convention was one of the largest gatherings of Kiwanis members in recent years.

We will miss Joe and the trips we made to New Orleans, the strolls through the downtown, the visit to the warehouse of Mardi Gras floats, the trip to the river to a restaurant to eat authentic southern food, the visit to Joe’s Kiwanis Club, the steamboat tour, the cemetery visits, the garden district, the French Quarter, Lafayette square, and much more.  

But we will always remember that on one trip we thought we had arranged to record a video at Lafayette Square when the police arrived and said we did not have the necessary approvals.  Joe rescued us with his sense of humor and southern charm.  The police allowed us to film a bit and then move across the street to finish our task.

We stayed in touch with Joe every year after that 2012 convention.  We always enjoyed his update on his family, his club, and the LaMissTenn District.  

He was a good friend that we will miss.  

Alan and Jeri Penn
2011-12 Kiwanis International President

To Ada and rest of the Pratt Family,

So sorry to hear of your loss.  I know it is hard to lose a parent even if they have had a wonderful and fulfilling life.  I will add you to my prayer list and pray for ease of mourning of your loss.  

God bless you all!!

Slaten Finger

Sue and family—I’m very sorry for your loss. I first met Joe in August 1991 in Baltimore at the CKI Convention when I was elected CKI president. I got to know him better over the next year as he made a kid from Ohio feel welcome every time I saw him and came to admire him as a result of my interactions with him and from the many great things that I heard about him from people like Geoff Mattie, Claire Snyder, and Oliver Yandle.  Joe touched so many lives in so many ways and will be missed and remembered by many. 
 
—Dave Pilati

As a former UNO Circle K officer, but most importantly a member (1996-2004), I always remember the conversations Joe and us would have. I have nothing but fond memories and use what was taught to us still to this day as I teach in the classroom.  I want to express our deepest sympathies and condolences. Joe left an indelible mark on many of us.

Joe was a good friend who was supportive of me when I served as the Circle K International Administrator. His advice, sense of humor and dedication to college students was invaluable. He filled my tennis shoes with whipped cream, but we laughed about it for years. Our friend, Bruce Marich, passed away before Joe and I  am sure he welcomed him to Heaven! Joe will be in my heart until it stops beating. ❤️

He was just a very spicy person with a special gift of caring❤️
Bobbie and David Whiddon

OBITUARY

Joe Lloyd Pratt

7 December, 1944 – 19 November, 2023

Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home

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