Samuel Newton Pratt – 1932-2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Samuel Newton Pratt of Hazelwood Farm died Monday December 11, 2006 at Piedmont Medical Center. He died peacefully surrounded by his family and a good friend. He was born in Sharon, SC on June 12, 1932. He was the son of Crawford C. Pratt, Sr. of Sharon, SC and Jane Neely Pratt of Rock Hill, SC. Sam grew up in Rock Hill and was a graduate of Winthrop Training School and The Citadel. He served in the United States Air Force. Sam retired from BASF after thirty years as a Technical Sales Representative. He was an excellent high school athlete who played football and baseball. Sam was honored as the Athlete of the Decade of the 1950’s by the Rock Hill Chapter of the American Cancer Society at a Sports Banquet where Gale Sayers was the Master of Ceremonies. Sam lived a long, happy life in Rock Hill surrounded by friends and family. He would say he was a rich man in that regard.
He and Anne realized their dream of breeding, training, and showing blue ribbon Saddlebred horses at Hazelwood Farm. Sandie McKee, a longtime family friend and fellow horse lover, painted a wonderful image of Sam in the hereafter. In a recent e-mail to Anne she wrote: “I’m sure there’s a gaited champion, saddled and ready, wherever it is. If it’s hell, the horse is a black, fire-breathing dragon, snorting and pounding out a devilishly fast rack with mane and tail a-flying. If it’s heaven, the steed is chestnut with white stockings and a blaze, hitting every lick, with perfect cadence and precision, every step reaching higher than the next, until they are both soaring. Either way, Sam’s smilin’!”
He is survived by his wife of fifty-one years, Anne S. Pratt and his three children: Paige Pratt and her husband, Dr. Bruce Stambler and granddaughters, Arielle and Madeline Stambler of Shaker Heights, Ohio; his son Dr. Sam N. Pratt, Jr. and his wife Barbara S. Pratt of Pinopolis, SC; and his daughter Georgeanne Pratt of Rock Hill. He also is survived by his sister Nancy Pratt Jordan and her husband Thomas L. Jordan; his niece Catherine Jordan Bourn and nephew Thomas L. Jordan, Jr.; his great nieces Ansley and Jordan Bourn, Samantha Jordan and great nephew Nicholas Jordan; his sister Smiley Pratt Harmon and husband Burt; niece Smiley Jane Kizer Causey and nephew Frank Kizer, Jr. and great nieces Ashley Causey and Bailey Kizer; his brother Crawford C. Pratt, Jr. and his wife Diane Barnes Pratt and nephews Crawford C. Pratt, III and Chadwick Hammond Pratt. He also is survived by many cousins in Rock Hill, Inman, SC and Charlotte, NC.
A memorial service was held on Thursday, December 14 at First Presbyterian Church, Rock Hill, SC. Following the service there was a luncheon at Hazelwood Farm in Pratt’s honor.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: Saddlebred Rescue, Inc., 13765 Old Post Road, Hortense, Georgia 31543. www.saddlebredrescue.com
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