John J Prunty, Jr lost his battle with rare blood cancer on January 26, 2021. John, born on October 2, 1947, was the oldest son of John and Marjorie Prunty of St Louis, both deceased. He is survived by his son, John J. Prunty III, (Chicago, Ill.), six (6) siblings: Janice Scott (St Charles, MO), Martin (Anthem, AZ), Kevin (Sullivan, MO), Eileen Bax (St Charles, MO), Tom (Wentzville, MO) and Brian (Wildwood, MO); He also leaves behind his devoted girlfriend, Diane Andrews, who stood by his side both before and throughout his illness.

John was committed to his education, receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri, his Masters from UMSL, and Ph.D. from Washington University in St Louis. He loved the outdoors, including hiking, fishing, and occasional hunting. He was a beekeeper for nearly 50 years, managing beehives and producing excellent honey for decades. He also owned a farm in northwestern Missouri, which he referred to as “his happy place.” John’s passion for writing resulted in command for the English language that created such beauty and fluidity of enjoyment.

No one’s life is complete without dear friends. John had many, but one very close friendship, David Dwyer, was cemented when both were at Washington University working on their PhDs together. Strong intellectual banter brought them together, but the joy of fishing, birding, the love of wine and food secured the solidarity of their friendship. In recent days, John and David shared phone readings from some very special verse and poetry in a nature bird book that David had written while reaching out from his L.A. home. The daily connection during the no travel restrictions became the next best opportunity for daily interaction.

During John’s career, he spent time teaching in Australia on a fellowship, taught high school in the Hazelwood School District, worked as an Operations Manager for Maritz Corporation, and as Sr Vice President and General Manager for Marine Audio. In both his career and personal life, he was known for his intellect and his wit. John, a true Irishman, had an insatiable curiosity to understand a person’s heritage. He never forgot a person’s name. His love for all music, created a personal challenge for him when he decided to build a harpsichord. Who does that?

John’s fondest memories were those of the times he spent with his son. John’s parenting philosophy was to give his son as much of his time, as possible, to pursue Johnny’s hobbies. They included hunting, fishing, and road trips to most major league baseball team stadiums in the US and Canada. He was a dedicated parent who understood the meaning of unconditional love. The most enduring reference John had for his son was his “little Champion” and now as an adult, “Johnny” has grown to a 6’3” young man that remains John’s Champion (minus the “little”).

The family would like to express gratitude to the BJC Hospice staff who cared for John with such love: Kimberly, Lee, Sarah, Monique, and Patrick.

John was so dedicated to understanding and helping others fight the “good fight” in battling his cancer that he dedicated his body to research. Any contributions to Siteman in honor of John would make him so happy.

The family requests contributions to be made to the Siteman Cancer Center, Dr. Stephen Oh Research Fund, MSC 1204, 7425 Forsyth Blvd. St. Louis, Mo. 63105 or online at siteman.wustl.edu/tribute. For online gifts, please select “Other-Designation” and type in: OH Research – John Joseph Prunty.”.
For gifts by check, please note on the memo line: “Oh Research – John Joseph Prunty”

John will be sorely missed by both family and friends.

No service is planned at this time, however, a Celebration of Life will occur when we all can once again share hugs of goodbye and wonderful memories.