John C. Pracht, Jr. Former state legislator and lawyer, John C. Pracht, Jr., passed away Sunday, November 29, 2009 at Manatee Memorial Hospital in Florida. He was 84 years old.
Mr. Pracht served four terms in the South Carolina General Assembly as a member of the House of Representatives from 1952-1956 and 1962-1966. Pracht was one of the first lawyers in Anderson County to specialize in Tax Law. Pracht was a paratrooper and combat veteran of World War II. After completing his service he attended Vanderbilt University receiving both undergraduate and graduate degrees in 1951. After earning his law degree from Vanderbilt, Mr. Pracht earned his Masters in Tax Law from New York University in 1952.
As a legislator Pracht focused his efforts on constituent service and helping the mentally handicapped. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was a successful effort as a legislator, after long hours of heated debate, to garner funding to upgrade the quality of care at Crafts Farrow Mental Hospital in Columbia. Mr. Pracht was active in his community serving as a Rotarian, Mason, Paul Harris Fellow and Philanthropist. He was well known to many as a colorful and distinguishable figure in Anderson life. In retirement Pracht could often be seen working in his buildings and properties scattered throughout the downtown area. He continued to perpetuate the Catherine Pracht Young Scholarship Fund, which provided scholarships to students at Anderson University.
Recently, Pracht was honored by Anderson University when he and his wife, Marie F. Pracht, gifted over 120 acres of valuable property adjoining the old Anderson County Fairgrounds to the University. Mr. Pracht is preceded in death by his father, John C. Pracht, Sr. and mother, Catherine Pracht Young.
He is survived by his wife, Marie F. Pracht, his son, John Christopher Pracht IV and grandson, J. Christopher Pracht V, Esq.
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