Richard A. Pratt

Mr. Richard A. Pratt, aged 87 and lifelong resident of Sylvan Park, passed away Thursday evening (2/20) after illness in recent months. He was born on May 22, 1932 to Ihla Uree Gibbons Pratt and Andrew Beazley Pratt, grandson of John J. Pratt & Jenny (Beazley) Pratt and Arthur B. Gibbons & Emma (Jordan) Gibbons. Mr. Pratt is preceded in death by his loving wife of 45 years, Louise James Pratt, his parents, and by his sisters, Lorene (Bill) Thompson and Thelma C. Pratt. He is survived by one sister, Mrs. Helen L. (Homer) Coggin.

The Pratts and the Beazleys are long-established Nashville families, the Pratts having settled here in 1867 and the Beazleys around 1820. By 1889, both families were early residents of the area west of Nashville, then called New Town and known today as Sylvan Park and The Nations.

The eldest of four children, Mr. Pratt was baptized at the West Nashville Presbyterian Church. He attended Sylvan Park elementary school and was a Class of 1952 graduate of Corinne L. Cohn High School. After high school Mr. Pratt enlisted in the US Army, training at Fort Lee (VA) and serving in the 579th Quartermaster Corps in France during the Korean War years of 1953 and 1954 and remaining on Army Reserve duty until 1961. After completing his active duty he joined his father and uncle, Joe Pratt, at the Pratt Brothers Garage, an established local auto repair business, where he specialized in automobile and truck chassis service, further building the company’s long-standing reputation for excellence in auto repair.

Mr. Pratt’s second career of many years was real estate management. Wearing his trademark blue overalls and Army Veteran ball cap, and always quick with a smile and a feisty quip or joke, Mr. Pratt was widely known in West Nashville for his fairness toward his tenants and his meticulous care of the properties. Mr. Pratt was loved and respected by his many friends including tenants and contractors associated with him through his numerous remodeling and building projects over the decades. West Nashville mourns the loss of one of its native sons and Mr. Richard Pratt will long be remembered as a true individual and an honorable citizen and patriot.

Pallbearers Barry Dean, Gaylen Foster, Andrew B. Gibson, Jr., Danny Hubble, Mark Lambert, Darrell Reasonover, Ricky Swift, and Tim Tomes,

Honorary Pallbearers Talel Abutrah, Earl Allen, Barry Burnette, Charles Brandon, Bobby Campbell, Lee Cohen, Jakie Cook, Benji Cook, Richard Curran, William C. Kimbro, Andy Kirby, Ramona Moore, Kenneth Quillen, Joe Reese, George Rooker, Mike Smith, Bill Thompson, Eugene White and Thomas White