HOLLISTON: Peter J. Prior, age 70, a longtime Holliston resident, died suddenly of a heart attack on Sunday morning, October 25, 2015, while doing what he loved most – traveling in his RV with family and friends. He and his wife, Karen L. (Cushman) Prior, were to celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary the following day.
Born, raised and educated in Natick, he was a son of the late Joseph F. and Catherine E. (Sullivan) Prior. Peter's first job was with Federal Glass before his 1965 graduation from Natick High School. He was then employed with Silton Glass of Framingham and Auto Glass Installers in Natick prior to establishing his own company, Priority Glass.
Peter and Karen had lived in Framingham before settling in Holliston in 1973. After several years with his glass business, Peter decided to take his career in a different direction remodeling homes in the MetroWest area for more than 25 years.
A longtime dream of Peter’s came to fruition this year when he and Karen packed their RV and traveled cross-country for three months with their friends traveling in their motorhome. Summertime was Peter’s season and he loved to swim and spend days at the Cape or the mountains, camping and cooking beneath the stars with family and special, long-time friends.
He is survived by Karen; their daughter, Jennifer L. DerAnanian and granddaughters, Ashley and Stephanie, all of Milford; his sister, Ellen Prior Gove and her husband Ronald of Canaan, NH and children, Rick and Dave; sisters-in-law, Laura Prior of Marlborough and children, Joe III, Cindy, Lisa, Steve and Kelli, and Valerie Prior of Wellesley and Ed's children, Ed, Mike, Chris, Beverly, and their mother, Lorna; brother-in-law Russell Wade of Collegeville, PA and children, Lynne, Mark and Barbara; mother-in-law, Ann L. (Mapes) Cushman of North Fort Myers, FL; Karen’s siblings Gary Cushman of Mattapoisett, and Jody Cushman of Pine Island, FL; and his many, many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was also predeceased by his brothers, Joseph and Edward Prior, his sister, Lillian Wade, and father-in-law, William Cushman.
His funeral will be held in the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street at Natick Common, on Friday, October 30th at 11:00AM. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend.
Visiting hours will be Thursday, October 29th from 4:00PM – 7:00PM.
Donations may be made in Peter’s memory to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701 or the American Heart Assoc., 300 5th Avenue, Waltham, MA 02451.