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Dickson G. Pratt Harrison, ID QCWA # 25148 Chapter 87 |
Dickson Grignard Pratt, 95, died at his home in Portland, Oregon on December 7th, 2022 with his wife of 71 years and his daughter at his bedside.
Dickson was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and lived his childhood on a Dole pineapple plantation in Wahiawa. His family had arrived in Hawaii in 1828. He attended Punahou School and graduated from Cornell University in 1950. He served briefly in the US Navy in Pearl Harbor but WW II ended not long after he joined. He met his wife, Elizabeth (Betsy) McClung, in Hawaii in 1951 and they lived there until 1963 at which time they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. He worked for Dillingham Corporation in managing the building of commercial real estate projects such as the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu and The Wells Fargo Building in San Francisco. They moved to Pacific Palisades, California in 1967 and then to Anchorage, Alaska in 1976, where he took a position as president of Carr - Gottstein Properties. He was a long time Rotary Club member as well as a Ham Radio operator.
In their time in Alaska, he and Betsy both enjoyed many outdoor activities such as fishing, camping, cross country skiing, sailing, canoeing, and swatting mosquitos. From Alaska they retired in 1984 to a large log home on Lake Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, where he continued to sail. He enjoyed many hours of splitting firewood for their home and they continued to camp and canoe and sail. He also volunteered with the local fire department. In 1996 they moved to Portland to be near family and moved into the Claremont golf community. He rode his bike daily around the many roads in Claremont. He volunteered at the local library teaching computer skills and digital photography to other seniors. In 2017 they moved to the retirement community of The Ackerly in Portland. He became affected by Alzheimers that ultimately led to his death.
His two children, Dickson Jr. of Ridgway, Colorado and Suzanne (now Renee Suzanne West) of Forest Grove, Oregon, were born in Hawaii. He is also survived by two grandchildren, Katharine Parker (Justin) of Seaside, Oregon and Alex Hosmann of Clackamas, Oregon, two great grandchildren, Mikayla and Chloe Parker, as well as his younger sister Vonnie Turner of Honolulu and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents, Joshua (Jot) and Marion (Grignard) Pratt, as well as his sister Audrey Bliss.
He was a devoted family man and his face lit up at the sight of the grandchildren and then great grandchildren. He loved taking his two grandchildren out on Lake Coeur d' Alene where they preferred the faster motor boat to the sailboat. His wonderful smile, sense of humor, and friendly demeanor will be missed by family and friends.
His remains will be interred in the family plot in Oahu Cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii.