Joe Lloyd Pratt

Joe Lloyd Pratt, 78, of Metairie, Louisiana, passed away on Sunday, November 19, 2023, in Arkansas. Joe was born to Lloyd Pratt and Frances Hill Pratt, of El Dorado, Arkansas, on December 7, 1944, in Memphis, Tennessee, where his father was stationed with the US Navy Shore Patrol. Joe spent his childhood in El Dorado where he attended El Dorado High School. After graduating high school, he attended Southern Arkansas University where he met and married Sue, his wife of 57 years. Joe earned a degree in business from SAU and after several years working for Murphy Oil, Joe was transferred to Metairie where he and Sue lived for over fifty years. In 1975, Joe and Sue opened Food, Etc., a popular neighborhood convenience store in Metairie that they operated for ten years. Joe later worked in sales as a representative for Gulf Sales and then for nearly thirty years, as owner of JP Promotions, an advertising specialties company. Joe’s greatest joy was his family. He shared his life’s adventures with his wife, Sue, and was the proud father of Lloyd (Karl) and Ada (Barry). He was blessed with two grandsons, Avery and Quinn, whom he adored.

Joe was an active Kiwanian for nearly forty years. He was a devoted member of the Lakeside Kiwanis Club and served for many years as club president and at times was the District B lieutenant governor and the District PAC chairman. He also served as the district administrator for the collegiate branch of Kiwanis, Circle K, and as the University of New Orleans Circle K adviser for 17 years. In 2016, Joe was honored by Kiwanis as an Unsung Hero for his years of service. His many awards include the International Tablet of Honor, Kiwanis Legion of Honor, George F. Hixson Fellow, Eliminate President’s Centennial Award, and the Circle K Carthage Pullman Award. He also had the honor to serve as the overall host chairman of the 2013 Kiwanis International Convention in New Orleans.

Joe loved watching his grandsons play sports. “PawPaw” rarely missed any of their games and was their biggest fan. Joe was also an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish. From a young age, he hunted at the Walton Deer Club near Strong, Arkansas. Joe passed away on the last day of his final hunting trip, which he spent in the woods he loved, on the deer stand he built, and in the company of his fellow hunters swapping stories around the campfire. Joe never met a stranger and was known for his cooking, his smile, and his warmth.

Joe is preceded in death by his father, Lloyd, and mother, Frances. A loving and much-beloved husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, and friend, Joe is survived by his wife, Sue Pratt; his son, Lloyd Pratt, of Oxford, England, and son’s husband, Karl Schoonover; his daughter, Ada Pratt Boutchard, of River Ridge, Louisiana, and daughter’s husband, Barry Boutchard; and his two grandsons, Avery and Quinn Boutchard.

Visitation with the family will be from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. on Friday, December 1, 2023, at Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home at 4747 Veterans Boulevard in Metairie, followed by a memorial and celebration of his life at 3:00 p.m. in the Leitz-Eagan chapel. At some time in the future, there will be a small memorial to scatter his ashes in Arkansas.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.LeitzEaganFuneralHome.com for the Pratt family.