2025 Journal-Yearbook

Illinois Great Rivers Conference 2025 Journal-Yearbook

Judy Pratt 1938-2025 Judith Evelyn (Welches) Pratt, 86, the widow of the Rev. Donald E. Pratt, died April 24, 2025, in Bloomington. Born Aug. 19, 1938, in Merrillville, Ind., Judy was the daughter of Charles William and Mary Margaret Stewart Welches. She married Donald Everett Pratt on June 8, 1963, in Gary, Ind. He died July 3, 2020. Judy graduated from Merrillville High School in 1956 and went on

to study at Spring Arbor College and Greenville College. She earned her master’s degree in Elementary Education at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville in 1965. Judy had a passion for teaching. From her third-grade students to adult learners, GED and ESL stu- dents and the prison education program, she improved thousands of lives over the course of her career. After Don entered the ministry in 1974, Judy continued to serve every community in which they lived. She was the very model of a pastor’s wife, supporting every church in every way: from teaching Sunday School and running Vacation Bible School every summer to serving as youth counselor at church camp to helping with everything from weddings and baptisms to organizing dinners, Judy was a servant leader in the truest sense of the word. Meanwhile, she continued to pursue her own interests, including host- ing foreign exchange students from Denmark, Germany and Uruguay. That experience led to a job working for Youth for Understanding for several years, during which she placed dozens of exchange students in communities across central Illinois. While she enjoyed all of those pursuits, Judy found her greatest joy in spending time with her family. Judy’s Chrisitan faith was the foundation upon which she built her life, and the driving force behind every decision. She was a strong and independent woman, the first in her family to go to college, the ultimate servant leader and the most loving and caring mom and grandma. She is survived by her daughter, Julie (Ward) Workman, of Normal, her son Donald Eric Pratt (Dr. Stacey Barrenger), of Akron, Ohio and JoAnn (Joe) Martin of Wylie, Texas. Also surviving are five grandchildren: Will (Courtney) Moore, Elizabeth M. (Grayson Cham- berlain) Workman, Connor T. (Josie Bell) Workman, Jessica and Joshua Martin and two great-grandchildren, Aiden and Wyatt Moore. The funeral service for Judy Pratt was April 30, 2025, at Normal Calvary United Methodist Church with Rev. Vincent Rohn officiating. Cremation rites were accorded and intern- ment was at Oak Hill Cemetery in Palmyra.

Nora Nadine Preston 1946-2025 The Rev. Nora Nadine Preston, 78, of Pittsfield, a retired IGRC clergy member, died Feb. 18, 2025, in Pittsfield. Nadine was born Dec. 7, 1946 in Quincy, a daughter of Claude and Nellie (Stewart) Preston.

A 1965 graduate of Quincy Senior High School and a 1969 graduate of Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., she became a teacher at Seymour High School in Payson. In 1979, she received a master’s degree in history from Western Illinois University.

264 Memoirs