ED PRATCSHLER (EDDIE PRAT)

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ED PRATCSHLER
(EDDIE PRAT)
November 10, 1932 – March 26, 2020

On March 26, 2020, surrounded by his loved ones, Ed Pratcshler passed away at the age of 87.
He was predeceased by his parents, Stephen, Dina and his brother Arpad. He is survived by his brother Marty and Betty-Anne, his loving wife of almost 60 years, who wants him to know that she loves him very much and always will.
His career was as a lithographer and he was a lifetime member of the Graphic Communications International Union. His passions beyond work defined him. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he grew up during the depression and as a child was classically trained as a violinist. Gifted with a natural musical talent, he was a self-taught saxophonist, bass guitarist and vocalist. In the 1950s he played in the musical group The Polka Dots and in the 1960s formed The Banana Bunch, a band that performed at local Winnipeg clubs, legions, weddings and socials from the 1960s to the 1980s. He formed life-long friends with band members and their families, including the Gilroys, Majors, Nicholsons, Sedens and his brother Arpad.
A tireless inventor until the end, Ed loved to tinker, find a better way of doing things and had a workshop in his basement, garage and at the lake. He was ahead of the environmentalism curve and with depression-era roots, inherently re-used, re-purposed and re-invented. Refusing to buy anything new and pre-dating MacGyver, he could jeri-rig anything. A favourite saying was "This isn't junk, it's inventory." Ed also had a love of animals and pets.
In the late 1960s, with a young family, Ed and Betty-Anne began cottaging at Sandy Hook, Manitoba where they enjoyed a lifetime of summers and weekends at the lake. While it was a vacation property, Ed never rested and invariably always had a project on the go. He did find time for golf and had been a member of Sandy Hook Golf Club for over 50 years. He proudly has two "hole in ones" to his name, with the most recent during the summer of 2018, when he was 85 years old.
Ed had a fervour for the game of curling and was a spirited competitor. Three times he scored a perfect "eight-ender," twice as the skip. An Honourary Life Member of the St. Vital Curling Club (SVCC) Men's league and a Past President of the SVCC, Ed was particularly committed to the SVCC Junior Program. From the late 1980s through to the early 1990s, he sowed the seeds for SVCC to now being known as having one of the finest junior programs in the Winnipeg area. In 1990, the SVCC honoured him with the Brian Holt Memorial Trophy, recognizing his great love of curling, sportsmanship and contributions in both his time and effort to the game. Today, his extended family at the SVCC consider him "someone who analyzed every shot; who knew the entire mechanics of the game and was the true inventor of the red brick slider (Prat Slider), the crutch and anything else needed to help make the perfect shot!" Sean Grassie's 2012 Manitoba Curling Association Bonspiel memoir, King of the Rings documented that Ed's red brick slider invention helped launch the Asham Curling Supplies empire. Curling icon Arnold Asham reflected that when curling at SVCC, he noticed a curler with a noisy red slider on an adjacent rink. It was Ed. And when asked, Ed shared red brick slider details including technology, materials and the custom manufacturing process with Asham.
Ed will be missed by his sons, Jim (Claudette) and Brian (Michelle) and daughter Perry-Anne (Allen); grandchildren, Aiden, Kaelyn, Garet, Brennan, Dustin, Justine, Chantel, Renee (Durl); brother Marty; Barb, the best sister-in-law ever and nephews, Rick, Pat (Holly) and Bruce (Wanda).
Thank you to Dr. Van Jaarsveldt and staff at the Pembina Medical Clinic and the staff at the Archibald Pharmacy for helping with Ed's medical needs in the past few years. Thank you to the team at St. Boniface Hospital in the Emergency and Family Medicine (4B) wards, door monitors and security guards for their efforts, support and enabling visitation and giving Ed hope, dignity and peace in his final days. True to form, Ed was a pioneer until the end. Among the first patients in the ER room when the hospital declared a lockdown for the Covid-19 Pandemic, during the first 48 hours, under crisis conditions, with a hearing disability and no caregiver support, Ed jeri-rigged a way to communicate between himself, his medical team and his family using patience, hand-written diary notes and handheld placards.
RIP Ed – keep playing music, curling, golfing, analyzing and inventing and know that Betty-Anne loves you very much and always will love you.
Plans for a Celebration of Life and a family gathering is pending. Please share your memories and photos with us on Ed's memory wall at ejcoutu.ca/ed-pratcshler
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Vital Curling Club Capital Fund. Please write cheques out to St. Vital Curling Club, Box 66, St. Vital PO, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2M 4A5.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 04, 2020