Former Crawford County Judge, Thomas Jefferson Prather, who retired in 1932 from the practice of law, died in Meadville City Hospital this morning at 1:20. He was 83 years old.

He was born in Troy township Nov. 28, 1866, and attended Troy schools during his boyhood.

Prather was elected president judge of this county in 1907 and was re-elected in 1917, the first man in the history of the county to win re-election to the bench.

He is survived by seven children: Attorney John B. Prather of Monaca; Attorney Gerald D. Prather, of Meadville; Margaret Prather Goold of Scarsdale, N.Y.; Attorney Frank D. Prather of Meadville; Thomas J. Prather, Jr. of Philadelphia; Mrs. Marian Prather Charlton of Meadville; and Wm. K. Prather of Meadville.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete this morning. The body was taken to the Waid funeral home in Meadville, where friends may call.
Titusville Herald, Monday, 10 Jan 1949, p.1, Titusville, Pa.
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Funeral services in memory of Hon. Thomas Jefferson Prather will be held at Stone Methodist
church at Meadville Wednesday morning at 11 o'clock. The retired two-term judge of Crawford County Courts, aged 82, died at 1:20 o'clock Monday morning at City Hospital, Meadville, where he had been a patient for about a month.

Waid funeral home announced that friends may call there all day Tuesday. Removal will be made Wednesday morning to Stone church, where the body will lie in state from 9:30 o'clock until time of the funeral. Interment will be at Greendale Cemetery.

The following concerning Judge Prather appeared in Monday's Meadville Tribune Republican: Mr. Prather's career incorporated all the colorful elements of a typical American success story. He was born in a log cabin on the Meadville- Titusville Road, four miles west of Townville. He spent his boyhood on the farm and getting his education in little one room schools. He was graduated from Edinboro Normal School in 1890, taught school for a while, then entered Allegheny College in the fall of 1892.

He took part in practically every extra-curricular and curricular activity Allegheny had to offer—and added a new one, football. Remembered throughout the area as a judge, Prather even as late as his 50th anniversary of graduation, was recalled most clearly by his classmates as the founder of football at Allegheny.

Sandwiching in his law studies with his college work, Mr. Prather read law in the office of Humes and Thomas, and was admitted to the Crawford County Bar June 2, 1896—a year before he received his nunc-pro-tunc diploma from Allegheny. It was only 11 years later that he was elected on the Democratic ticket as Crawford county judge. During his judgeship, he marked up an outstanding record of affirmations in cases appealed to appellate courts in the state.

Overshadowing spectacular murder trials and other cases that drew attention from all over the state, as far as Mr. Prather was concerned, was a suit against a railroad company for allowing an obstruction on its platform. The former judge long after remembered that as his most interesting case. "I held that the railroad was bound to make its platform safe, although there was no previous ruling. The state supreme court upheld me," he recalled proudly.

Always, keenly interested in politics himself, the retired judge frequently lamented that in modern times "the people are losing interest—which is a bad situation." Lifelong Democrat though he was, Mr. Prather lost a bet on last November's presidential election. Frank B. Kunselman, Meadville postmaster who hit the election results almost on the nose, recalled Mr. Prather as saying: "I hope you're right Frank—but if you are, I'll take off this well-worn hat and eat it." That incident happened in the courthouse, where Mr. Prather was a frequent visitor long after he stopped having any official connections with it. The former judge's interest in everything that went on around him continued even through his serious illness. With doctors abandoning hope for his recovery, he amazed them all one day last week, sat up in bed and read a newspaper through from cover to cover. Suffering from uremic poisoning, former Judge Prather appeared to be recovering for a few days until yesterday afternoon, and even was making plans to go home. He had a relapse yesterday afternoon.

Until the day he went to the hospital—December 1, Mr. Prather was active in the Rotary Club for many years. Among other activities he found time for along with judgeship, law practice and later, in retirement, were the Boy Scout movement which he headed during its Crawford county infancy; the Literary Union; active membership in Stone Methodist Church and in the Masonic lodges. [Judge Prather served one term as District Governor of Rotary.] He was trustee of Edinboro State Teachers College, and of Allegheny College until about two years ago, and served as a trustee of the City Hospital.

Former Judge Prathers final retirement from the law came in 1932, four years after he stepped down from the county bench. From 1928 to 1932 he participated in a law partnership with E. Lowry
Humes in Pittsburgh. In 1932 he returned to Meadville and spent his time at his farm.

Since the death of his wife, the former Margaret Ann Kramer, three years ago, Mr. Prather lived alone and did his own cooking. That and planting trees, gardening, reading and keeping up with club activities kept him busy until his illness. The former judge captained the 1893 and 1894 Allegheny College football teams, which were so zealous in furthering what was then a new game to this part of the country that team members walked the round trip to Titusville in order to play a game. He played "center rush," today's version of center, at Allegheny. Judge Prather and his team mates bought their own uniforms, built their own football field and received no financial support. Frequently the veteran judge would reminisce that "I guess we did want to play football pretty badly, for we got no faculty support and even a great portion of the student body regarded us with distrust and suspicion."

Surviving him are seven children: Attorney John P. Prather of Monaca; Attorneys Gerald D. and Frank D. Prather and Mrs. James S. Charlton and William K. Prather, all of Meadville; Mrs. Gilbert Goold of Scarsdale, N. Y., and Thomas J. Prather, Jr., of Philadelphia. Also surviving are 14 grandchildren.
The Titusville Herald, Tuesday morning, 11 Jan 1949, p. 3, 7, Titusville, Pa.