John Prais

There are certain people that come into your life and make an immediate impression. John Prais was that man. Anyone who knew John would instantly be charmed by his warmth, uplifted by his wit, and benefited from his generosity. John was truly unforgettable. The world lost one of the best on Sunday, February 27, 2022.

John Peter Prais was born on February 21, 1945 in Stevens Point, WI to proud parents Agnes (Repinski) and Peter Prais. He joined his three older sisters - Charlotte, Dorothy and Elsie - who doted on him. John attended and graduated from: Saint Stanislaus Elementary in 1958, Pacelli High School (the current YMCA) in 1963, and UWSP with a major in Political Science in 1967. He has many wonderful stories of playing Little League and golfing at the Stevens Point Country Club and for the UWSP Golf team, through which he made many lifelong friends.

It was love at first sight for John when he met Gail Doemland, on June 14, 1967 - Flag Day. They were married at Saint Stanislaus church on February 3, 1968 and celebrated 51 years of love until February 3, 2019 when Gail passed away from Alzheimer's. John always remembers to put out a flag on June 14th, not just to show his love of country, but more importantly his love of Gail.

John joined the Army Reserves during the late 1960s and served 6 years, being discharged on February 6, 1975.

John fondly remembered working at Pete's Silver Coach as a bartender, and St. Steve's as a history teacher and coach, before being offered a position with Dairyland Insurance in Madison, WI. John and Gail settled in Middleton and welcomed daughter Erin in 1968. John was transferred to Minneapolis with Dairyland and ultimately worked for Traveler's Insurance. Daughter Kelly was born in 1973 when they lived in Crystal, MN. In 1978, John started working for Sentry Insurance and moved to Stevens Point, thrilled to return to his beloved community.

John worked for Sentry Insurance in National Sales until he accepted the position of Vice President of Sales at Worzalla Publishing. John was proud to work at Worzalla for 25 years, retiring in 2012.

In 1988, John and his business partners Charlie Nason and Erv Span bought a law enforcement directory publication and moved the operations from Milwaukee to Stevens Point. Under their leadership, SPAN Publishing was born and has grown from one law enforcement directory into an extremely vital resource for all public safety - police, fire, EMS, and more. John was extremely proud of the work that SPAN Publishing continues to do, and especially of their support of law enforcement.

Music was very important to John. Together with Gail and a small group of music-loving community leaders, they became founding members of the Soirée Musicale event at UWSP, fundraising well over $300,000 in music scholarships since its inception. His love of jazz continued, recently supporting the Jazz Coterie pop-up concerts at the SPCC, which showcased so many talented jazz singers and groups in intimate live performances. A steady stream of his favorite crooners like Sinatra and Bennett and Cole and Mathis helped him transition to the great ballroom beyond in his final days.

Travel was so much a part of John and Gail's wonderful life together. There were many amazing trips to New York, San Francisco, Italy and Ireland. Door County held a special place in his heart, with many trips with friends to play golf and watch the beautiful sunsets. The trip to Tuscany with Gail and some treasured friends was one of the best experiences of his life, and one that his daughters hope to replicate one day.

John was a member of the Stevens Point Country Club. His sister Charlotte taught him to golf there, and he always said that this was where he felt most at home. One of his greatest joys was the retired marble marker for hole #9 that his friends conspired to drop on his front lawn a few years ago. Gail and John traveled to many golf tournaments around the world, including to see Tiger Woods win the British Open and many memorable trips to the Masters' Tournament in Augusta, GA. There they always visited their favorite #16 water hole, and would tell us that every time we saw it, we should think of them.

The new Sentry Curling Club located in Plover was his pride and joy, and he spent many days curling there right up until the end, with so many lifelong friends. The stories of the bonspiels were epic, and he was proud that his daughter Kelly and son-in-law Dan are avid curlers. We are grateful to Connie Check enough for always keeping him engaged in the sports that he loved and being a delightful companion for the past seven years.

John was a long-standing member of the Eskie Lodge Club and enjoyed sharing meals and stories with the members through the years. His lifelong quest to perfect his Wild Rice Soup started at dinners there. All who tried it developed an appetite for it, and he handed the ladle over to his granddaughter Olivia Hintz, who is carrying on the tradition of making the annual pot of this coveted soup.

John always believed in supporting your home team, whether it was the Pacelli Cardinals, the UWSP Pointers, the UW Badgers, Green Bay Packers or Milwaukee Brewers. John was a season ticket holder for the UW-Madison Badger football team and there are countless stories of road trips to Badger games in Iowa and tailgating, including a family trip to the Rose Bowl in 2000. Red was his favorite color, and we will continue to cheer on the Badgers in his honor.

John listed his greatest achievements as being the "father of two beautiful girls, grandfather of two boys and two girls, and husband of Gail." When John prepared to welcome his first grandchild in 1998, he thought long and hard about what he would want to be called. He settled on "Grandpar," but his grandson couldn't say that. It came out "Papar," and that name stuck. Papar was so proud of his four grandchildren, supporting their favorite activities: watching Calvin Hintz play baseball and golf, seeing Olivia Hintz dance across the stage, enjoying the live theater performances of Jack Jones, and listening to Evelyn Jones play the violin and sing.

There is not a person that met John who didn't have a story about him, about how he put them

at ease, connected them to others, or made them laugh. John's greatest joy was in making people happy. A born entertainer, he had an innate ability to plan all the events, earning him the nickname, "the Cruise Director." John would light up a room with his sense of humor, including his many encore performances of his comedic alter ego, Melmac the Magnificent.

While this was an unexpected end to a spectacular life, John's family feels so blessed. He was able to continue to live at home despite the challenges with Alzheimer's that he faced. He continued to be an active member of the curling community, and a beloved character on the golf course. He enjoyed the admiration of friends far and wide and radiated love to all who knew him. He never missed a chance to tell people that he loved them and that he appreciated them. John would want us to remind everyone that The Best Is Yet To Come.

Survivors include: Erin Prais-Hintz and Paul Hintz, Stevens Point; Kelly (Prais) and Dan Jones, Cedarburg; grandchildren, Calvin Hintz, Olivia Hintz, Jack Jones and Evelyn Jones; Sister Dorothy Jakusz Pisarski; numerous nephews and nieces.

Thank you to the staff at Wausau Aspirus ICU and Palliative Care for taking such good care of John in his final days and for listening to us tell them all the stories of what made John so special.

A Mass of Christian Burial for John will be at Holy Spirit Parish, Stevens Point on Tuesday, March 15 at 11:00 a.m. Rev. Steve Brice will officiate. Burial will be in the Guardian Angel Cemetery. Visitation will be held at Pisarski Funeral Home, Stevens Point on Monday, March 14 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and again on Tuesday, March 15 from 10:00 a.m. to the time of service at the Church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to any of the following: Alzheimer's Association - Greater Wisconsin Chapter; Operation Bootstrap; Pacelli Catholic Schools. Pisarski Funeral Homes are honored to be serving the Prais family. For online condolences, please visit www.pisarskifuneralhome.com