Obituary of Laura Prater

Laura Aida Prater was born September 8, 1929 in Rosedale New York. She was the daughter of Eugene Zenobia and Olga Merola. She had three brothers and one sister, Mark, Ivan, Carl, Antoinette and a stepsister Inez. Their mother died when Laura was just three years old. Laura adored her brother Carl and said they were close. She told me about when he would come home on leave from the service. He would come to the window at school and the nun would say, "Go ahead Laura, you can go. I won't get any work out of you now anyway." In 1948, Laura married William J. McKendry. They had a daughter Catherine, born November 22, 1949. William died in 1961. Laura was married again in 1974 to Raymond A. Prater, who was very good to her and Catherine. Years later, Laura was again widowed. Laura spent most of her time caring for her daughter Catherine, whom she loved very much. She often said she felt blessed to have her. Although Laura was worried about what would happen to Catherine when she died, Catherine died before her, passing in 2012. Laura spent time with her sister Brownie and her sister-in-law Polly. They would bring her to appointments and shopping, or they would have lunch together. Along with providing Laura with comfort and support, I'm sure they shared some good times together.