Joseph Harold (Pete) Pritchard, 95, lifelong native of the Pleasant Retreat community south of Thorndale, Texas went to his sure and eternal reward on Sunday, March 19, 2006, from the Wesleyan Nursing Home in Georgetown.
Uncle Harold, as he was known to his adoring nephews and nieces, spent the last 14 years of his life at the Wesleyan Retirement Home, but always considered Pleasant Retreat and Thorndale as his true home.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. at Condra Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be performed at 2 p.m. Thursday by the Rev. Nina Newman at Condra Funeral Home in Taylor with burial in the Taylor City Cemetery.
Olie Patton and Alice (Addie) Gunn Pritchard welcomed this fifth son into their world of farming and ranching on Jan. 21, 1911. Two more brothers would follow to make a total of seven Pritchard boys sharing in the workload of a 2,400 acre farm and ranch in the time of farming powered by draft horses and mules and cattle herding on horseback.
His business sense began to develop at the age of 17 when his father's death meant having to manage the family estate. A lifetime of farming and ranching established Harold as one of the most respected and valued breeders of Hereford bulls and sheep.
Harold got a taste for cars early in life, when he helped his mother and brother retrieve the family's first car, a 1917 Ford Model T Phaeton, from Rockdale. He showed a talent for engineering at the age of 12 when he overhauled the engine and transmission from the same car, making it his own. A reputation as a natural mechanic followed with several transplanted Ford engines into Chevrolet cars, to develop the most reliable transportation available. Testimony to his engineering prowess can still be found today in the form of several farming implements fashioned from Ford Model T gears and parts recycled from other sources.
A lifetime of faith and Christian service was molded in the Pleasant Retreat Church, of which his parents were founding members. It can truly be said that Pleasant Retreat Methodist Church would not exist today without the single minded determination of Harold and his wife Gussie Simmons Pritchard.
The importance of community in the lives of his neighbors was the major driving force for Harold Pritchard. Risking his very life to help develop community services, Harold secretly served as the first Milam County Pct. 4 property appraiser at a time when a need for county taxes to develop county services was not appreciated by many.
Community service was further evidenced when Harold Pritchard became one of the original founders of the Southwest Milam County Water Service Corporation and his subsequent service on the WSC Board of Directors for many years. One of his final acts of community service with the WSC was personally financing the new water service line enjoyed today by the Pleasant Retreat community.
Community service was further evidenced by repeated terms on the Thorndale ISD Board of Trustees, even though his "children" belonged to his neighbors, lacking any of his own.
Harold Pritchard's character development from an early age showed uncompromising traits of honesty, integrity and service to others with a keen wit and love of humor.
Harold Pritchard was preceded in death by his parents, Olie Patton and Alice (Addie) Gunn Pritchard; wife of 60 years, Gussie Simmons Pritchard; older brothers Issac Patton Pritchard, James William (Bill) Pritchard, Albert Sidney Pritchard and Nolan Lee Pritchard; younger brothers Jack Weldon Pritchard and Quentin (Rastus) Pritchard; sisters-in-law Anne Pritchard and Nelly Hawkes Pritchard; niece Linda Lee Pritchard Coffee; and many close friends, family members and dear neighbors represented by his pallbearers.
His survivors include best friend and companion Doris Shillings of Georgetown; sisters-in-law Edna Pritchard of San Antonio and Lois Pritchard of Amarillo; nephews Jack Pritchard Jr. of San Antonio, Douglas Pritchard of Boerne, Patrick Pritchard of Macon, Ga. and Kenneth Pritchard of Thorndale; nieces June Pritchard of San Antonio, Brenda Duncan of Houston and Beverly Scott of Miami, Fla.; beloved-in-law Brenda Pritchard of Thorndale; beloved great-nephews David Pritchard and Jonathan Pritchard of Thorndale; longtime neighbors Nathan Smith, T.A. Beard and Linda Smith Grimm as well as a host of cousins and surrogate children in the Pleasant Retreat community.
Pallbearers will be Mike Organ, Darrell Gambrell and Burke Bauerschlag, representing close friends Pat and Wilma Organ, Willis and Birdie Gambrell and Elmo Bauerschlag; William Smith and Jimmy Campbell, representing the Catchings, Stolte and Smith families; Jonathan Pritchard, representing the Pritchard families; and honorary pallbearers Nathan Smith and T.A. Beard, representing a lifetime of friends and neighbors.
Transportation to his final resting place will be provided by Henry, his one and only most cherished possession, a 1950 Ford 8N tractor.
∼Joseph was born in the Pleasant Retreat Community to Olie Patton Pritchard and Alice "Addie" Gunn Pritchard. He was married to Gussie Simmons who preceded him in death 6 Jun 1996 in Williamson County. She was born 8 Jun 1912. Joseph spend many years in a resthome in Georgetown.
Uncle Harold, as he was known to his adoring nephews and nieces, spent the last 14 years of his life at the Wesleyan Retirement Home, but always considered Pleasant Retreat and Thorndale as his true home.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. at Condra Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be performed at 2 p.m. Thursday by the Rev. Nina Newman at Condra Funeral Home in Taylor with burial in the Taylor City Cemetery.
Olie Patton and Alice (Addie) Gunn Pritchard welcomed this fifth son into their world of farming and ranching on Jan. 21, 1911. Two more brothers would follow to make a total of seven Pritchard boys sharing in the workload of a 2,400 acre farm and ranch in the time of farming powered by draft horses and mules and cattle herding on horseback.
His business sense began to develop at the age of 17 when his father's death meant having to manage the family estate. A lifetime of farming and ranching established Harold as one of the most respected and valued breeders of Hereford bulls and sheep.
Harold got a taste for cars early in life, when he helped his mother and brother retrieve the family's first car, a 1917 Ford Model T Phaeton, from Rockdale. He showed a talent for engineering at the age of 12 when he overhauled the engine and transmission from the same car, making it his own. A reputation as a natural mechanic followed with several transplanted Ford engines into Chevrolet cars, to develop the most reliable transportation available. Testimony to his engineering prowess can still be found today in the form of several farming implements fashioned from Ford Model T gears and parts recycled from other sources.
A lifetime of faith and Christian service was molded in the Pleasant Retreat Church, of which his parents were founding members. It can truly be said that Pleasant Retreat Methodist Church would not exist today without the single minded determination of Harold and his wife Gussie Simmons Pritchard.
The importance of community in the lives of his neighbors was the major driving force for Harold Pritchard. Risking his very life to help develop community services, Harold secretly served as the first Milam County Pct. 4 property appraiser at a time when a need for county taxes to develop county services was not appreciated by many.
Community service was further evidenced when Harold Pritchard became one of the original founders of the Southwest Milam County Water Service Corporation and his subsequent service on the WSC Board of Directors for many years. One of his final acts of community service with the WSC was personally financing the new water service line enjoyed today by the Pleasant Retreat community.
Community service was further evidenced by repeated terms on the Thorndale ISD Board of Trustees, even though his "children" belonged to his neighbors, lacking any of his own.
Harold Pritchard's character development from an early age showed uncompromising traits of honesty, integrity and service to others with a keen wit and love of humor.
Harold Pritchard was preceded in death by his parents, Olie Patton and Alice (Addie) Gunn Pritchard; wife of 60 years, Gussie Simmons Pritchard; older brothers Issac Patton Pritchard, James William (Bill) Pritchard, Albert Sidney Pritchard and Nolan Lee Pritchard; younger brothers Jack Weldon Pritchard and Quentin (Rastus) Pritchard; sisters-in-law Anne Pritchard and Nelly Hawkes Pritchard; niece Linda Lee Pritchard Coffee; and many close friends, family members and dear neighbors represented by his pallbearers.
His survivors include best friend and companion Doris Shillings of Georgetown; sisters-in-law Edna Pritchard of San Antonio and Lois Pritchard of Amarillo; nephews Jack Pritchard Jr. of San Antonio, Douglas Pritchard of Boerne, Patrick Pritchard of Macon, Ga. and Kenneth Pritchard of Thorndale; nieces June Pritchard of San Antonio, Brenda Duncan of Houston and Beverly Scott of Miami, Fla.; beloved-in-law Brenda Pritchard of Thorndale; beloved great-nephews David Pritchard and Jonathan Pritchard of Thorndale; longtime neighbors Nathan Smith, T.A. Beard and Linda Smith Grimm as well as a host of cousins and surrogate children in the Pleasant Retreat community.
Pallbearers will be Mike Organ, Darrell Gambrell and Burke Bauerschlag, representing close friends Pat and Wilma Organ, Willis and Birdie Gambrell and Elmo Bauerschlag; William Smith and Jimmy Campbell, representing the Catchings, Stolte and Smith families; Jonathan Pritchard, representing the Pritchard families; and honorary pallbearers Nathan Smith and T.A. Beard, representing a lifetime of friends and neighbors.
Transportation to his final resting place will be provided by Henry, his one and only most cherished possession, a 1950 Ford 8N tractor.
∼Joseph was born in the Pleasant Retreat Community to Olie Patton Pritchard and Alice "Addie" Gunn Pritchard. He was married to Gussie Simmons who preceded him in death 6 Jun 1996 in Williamson County. She was born 8 Jun 1912. Joseph spend many years in a resthome in Georgetown.
Joseph Harold (Pete) Pritchard, 95, lifelong native of the Pleasant Retreat community south of Thorndale, Texas went to his sure and eternal reward on Sunday, March 19, 2006, from the Wesleyan Nursing Home in Georgetown.
Uncle Harold, as he was known to his adoring nephews and nieces, spent the last 14 years of his life at the Wesleyan Retirement Home, but always considered Pleasant Retreat and Thorndale as his true home.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. at Condra Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be performed at 2 p.m. Thursday by the Rev. Nina Newman at Condra Funeral Home in Taylor with burial in the Taylor City Cemetery.
Olie Patton and Alice (Addie) Gunn Pritchard welcomed this fifth son into their world of farming and ranching on Jan. 21, 1911. Two more brothers would follow to make a total of seven Pritchard boys sharing in the workload of a 2,400 acre farm and ranch in the time of farming powered by draft horses and mules and cattle herding on horseback.
His business sense began to develop at the age of 17 when his father's death meant having to manage the family estate. A lifetime of farming and ranching established Harold as one of the most respected and valued breeders of Hereford bulls and sheep.
Harold got a taste for cars early in life, when he helped his mother and brother retrieve the family's first car, a 1917 Ford Model T Phaeton, from Rockdale. He showed a talent for engineering at the age of 12 when he overhauled the engine and transmission from the same car, making it his own. A reputation as a natural mechanic followed with several transplanted Ford engines into Chevrolet cars, to develop the most reliable transportation available. Testimony to his engineering prowess can still be found today in the form of several farming implements fashioned from Ford Model T gears and parts recycled from other sources.
A lifetime of faith and Christian service was molded in the Pleasant Retreat Church, of which his parents were founding members. It can truly be said that Pleasant Retreat Methodist Church would not exist today without the single minded determination of Harold and his wife Gussie Simmons Pritchard.
The importance of community in the lives of his neighbors was the major driving force for Harold Pritchard. Risking his very life to help develop community services, Harold secretly served as the first Milam County Pct. 4 property appraiser at a time when a need for county taxes to develop county services was not appreciated by many.
Community service was further evidenced when Harold Pritchard became one of the original founders of the Southwest Milam County Water Service Corporation and his subsequent service on the WSC Board of Directors for many years. One of his final acts of community service with the WSC was personally financing the new water service line enjoyed today by the Pleasant Retreat community.
Community service was further evidenced by repeated terms on the Thorndale ISD Board of Trustees, even though his "children" belonged to his neighbors, lacking any of his own.
Harold Pritchard's character development from an early age showed uncompromising traits of honesty, integrity and service to others with a keen wit and love of humor.
Harold Pritchard was preceded in death by his parents, Olie Patton and Alice (Addie) Gunn Pritchard; wife of 60 years, Gussie Simmons Pritchard; older brothers Issac Patton Pritchard, James William (Bill) Pritchard, Albert Sidney Pritchard and Nolan Lee Pritchard; younger brothers Jack Weldon Pritchard and Quentin (Rastus) Pritchard; sisters-in-law Anne Pritchard and Nelly Hawkes Pritchard; niece Linda Lee Pritchard Coffee; and many close friends, family members and dear neighbors represented by his pallbearers.
His survivors include best friend and companion Doris Shillings of Georgetown; sisters-in-law Edna Pritchard of San Antonio and Lois Pritchard of Amarillo; nephews Jack Pritchard Jr. of San Antonio, Douglas Pritchard of Boerne, Patrick Pritchard of Macon, Ga. and Kenneth Pritchard of Thorndale; nieces June Pritchard of San Antonio, Brenda Duncan of Houston and Beverly Scott of Miami, Fla.; beloved-in-law Brenda Pritchard of Thorndale; beloved great-nephews David Pritchard and Jonathan Pritchard of Thorndale; longtime neighbors Nathan Smith, T.A. Beard and Linda Smith Grimm as well as a host of cousins and surrogate children in the Pleasant Retreat community.
Pallbearers will be Mike Organ, Darrell Gambrell and Burke Bauerschlag, representing close friends Pat and Wilma Organ, Willis and Birdie Gambrell and Elmo Bauerschlag; William Smith and Jimmy Campbell, representing the Catchings, Stolte and Smith families; Jonathan Pritchard, representing the Pritchard families; and honorary pallbearers Nathan Smith and T.A. Beard, representing a lifetime of friends and neighbors.
Transportation to his final resting place will be provided by Henry, his one and only most cherished possession, a 1950 Ford 8N tractor.
∼Joseph was born in the Pleasant Retreat Community to Olie Patton Pritchard and Alice "Addie" Gunn Pritchard. He was married to Gussie Simmons who preceded him in death 6 Jun 1996 in Williamson County. She was born 8 Jun 1912. Joseph spend many years in a resthome in Georgetown.
Uncle Harold, as he was known to his adoring nephews and nieces, spent the last 14 years of his life at the Wesleyan Retirement Home, but always considered Pleasant Retreat and Thorndale as his true home.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. at Condra Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be performed at 2 p.m. Thursday by the Rev. Nina Newman at Condra Funeral Home in Taylor with burial in the Taylor City Cemetery.
Olie Patton and Alice (Addie) Gunn Pritchard welcomed this fifth son into their world of farming and ranching on Jan. 21, 1911. Two more brothers would follow to make a total of seven Pritchard boys sharing in the workload of a 2,400 acre farm and ranch in the time of farming powered by draft horses and mules and cattle herding on horseback.
His business sense began to develop at the age of 17 when his father's death meant having to manage the family estate. A lifetime of farming and ranching established Harold as one of the most respected and valued breeders of Hereford bulls and sheep.
Harold got a taste for cars early in life, when he helped his mother and brother retrieve the family's first car, a 1917 Ford Model T Phaeton, from Rockdale. He showed a talent for engineering at the age of 12 when he overhauled the engine and transmission from the same car, making it his own. A reputation as a natural mechanic followed with several transplanted Ford engines into Chevrolet cars, to develop the most reliable transportation available. Testimony to his engineering prowess can still be found today in the form of several farming implements fashioned from Ford Model T gears and parts recycled from other sources.
A lifetime of faith and Christian service was molded in the Pleasant Retreat Church, of which his parents were founding members. It can truly be said that Pleasant Retreat Methodist Church would not exist today without the single minded determination of Harold and his wife Gussie Simmons Pritchard.
The importance of community in the lives of his neighbors was the major driving force for Harold Pritchard. Risking his very life to help develop community services, Harold secretly served as the first Milam County Pct. 4 property appraiser at a time when a need for county taxes to develop county services was not appreciated by many.
Community service was further evidenced when Harold Pritchard became one of the original founders of the Southwest Milam County Water Service Corporation and his subsequent service on the WSC Board of Directors for many years. One of his final acts of community service with the WSC was personally financing the new water service line enjoyed today by the Pleasant Retreat community.
Community service was further evidenced by repeated terms on the Thorndale ISD Board of Trustees, even though his "children" belonged to his neighbors, lacking any of his own.
Harold Pritchard's character development from an early age showed uncompromising traits of honesty, integrity and service to others with a keen wit and love of humor.
Harold Pritchard was preceded in death by his parents, Olie Patton and Alice (Addie) Gunn Pritchard; wife of 60 years, Gussie Simmons Pritchard; older brothers Issac Patton Pritchard, James William (Bill) Pritchard, Albert Sidney Pritchard and Nolan Lee Pritchard; younger brothers Jack Weldon Pritchard and Quentin (Rastus) Pritchard; sisters-in-law Anne Pritchard and Nelly Hawkes Pritchard; niece Linda Lee Pritchard Coffee; and many close friends, family members and dear neighbors represented by his pallbearers.
His survivors include best friend and companion Doris Shillings of Georgetown; sisters-in-law Edna Pritchard of San Antonio and Lois Pritchard of Amarillo; nephews Jack Pritchard Jr. of San Antonio, Douglas Pritchard of Boerne, Patrick Pritchard of Macon, Ga. and Kenneth Pritchard of Thorndale; nieces June Pritchard of San Antonio, Brenda Duncan of Houston and Beverly Scott of Miami, Fla.; beloved-in-law Brenda Pritchard of Thorndale; beloved great-nephews David Pritchard and Jonathan Pritchard of Thorndale; longtime neighbors Nathan Smith, T.A. Beard and Linda Smith Grimm as well as a host of cousins and surrogate children in the Pleasant Retreat community.
Pallbearers will be Mike Organ, Darrell Gambrell and Burke Bauerschlag, representing close friends Pat and Wilma Organ, Willis and Birdie Gambrell and Elmo Bauerschlag; William Smith and Jimmy Campbell, representing the Catchings, Stolte and Smith families; Jonathan Pritchard, representing the Pritchard families; and honorary pallbearers Nathan Smith and T.A. Beard, representing a lifetime of friends and neighbors.
Transportation to his final resting place will be provided by Henry, his one and only most cherished possession, a 1950 Ford 8N tractor.
∼Joseph was born in the Pleasant Retreat Community to Olie Patton Pritchard and Alice "Addie" Gunn Pritchard. He was married to Gussie Simmons who preceded him in death 6 Jun 1996 in Williamson County. She was born 8 Jun 1912. Joseph spend many years in a resthome in Georgetown.
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