Gilbert "Butch" Prater

April 15, 1943 - June 14, 2018

Gilbert “Butch” Prater, age 75 (or as he liked to say “three-quarters of a century”), a resident of Buncombe, passed away Thursday afternoon, June 14, 2018, at 4:45 PM at his home. Butch was born April 15, 1943 in Granite City, Illinois. He was the son of Gilbert L. Prater, Sr. and Mary Maxine (Delmasso) Prater. Butch is survived by: his children – Mary Jane (Noble) White of Buncombe, Terri (Danny) Stewart of Buncombe, Jimmy Prater of Lick Creek, John Byron Cox of Benton, Kentucky, Betsy Prater of Murphy, North Carolina, and Rhonda Lingle of Vienna; 6 grandchildren; 7 great grandchildren; and a special friend - Shirley Elkins of Buncombe. Butch was preceded in death by his parents – Gilbert L. Prater, Sr. and Maxine Prater Howell. Butch was a 1961 graduate of Vienna High School. He was a lifelong farmer and bought his first piece of land at the age of 14. Butch also enjoyed fishing, antique tractors, pitching washers and horseshoes, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. A service honoring the life of Gilbert “Butch” Prater will be held Monday morning, June 18, 2018, at 10 AM at Bailey Funeral Home in Vienna. Pastor Jay Franklin will officiate. Burial will be in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery near Buncombe. Farm friends are invited to drive their tractors to the service on Monday and will be included in the procession to the cemetery as a tribute to Butch. Visitation will be conducted Sunday, June 17, 2018, from 5 PM – 8 PM at Bailey Funeral Home in Vienna. Memorials may be made to the Vienna High School FFA, 601 N. 1st St., Vienna, IL 62995 or to the Johnson County Genealogical & Historical Society, P.O. Box 1207, Vienna, IL 62995.