CASSELBERRY, FL: Guy B. Praria, 87, died Saturday, September 24, 2016 in the Winter Park Memorial Hospital in Winter Park, FL. He was the beloved husband of Helen T. (O’Rourke) Praria.
Born in Everett, MA on September 20, 1929, he was the son of the late Guy B. Praria, Sr. and Harriette F. (Reynolds) Praria. He grew up in Philadelphia before meeting and marrying his wife in Salem, MA. They also lived in Peabody, MA and Concord, NH before settling in Wayland, MA, where they lived for thirty-five years. They moved to Casselberry, Florida in 2014. A U.S. Navy veteran of the European Occupation, he was honorably discharged in 1951.
Guy was employed as an electronics engineer for over sixty years, working on projects ranging from helping to make color TV happen in the 1950’s to working on the human genome project. While living in Wayland for thirty-five years, he served as a Eucharistic Minister for five years at St. Zepherin’s Parish.
In addition to his wife of nearly sixty-six years, he is survived by his son, Guy M. Praria; two daughters, Helen M. Praria and Christine M. Praria; two granddaughters, Beulah E. and Clara R. Langston; three sisters, Harriette “Bette” Martinez, Ruth Herrick and Lois Southerly and several nieces and nephews. He was also predeceased by his grandson, Nathan T. Langston, a sister, Janet Boyd Sharp Praria and two brothers, Paul and John Praria.
His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday in St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 3 Margin St., Peabody at 10 a.m. Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday in the Grondin Funeral Home, 376 Cabot St., Beverly from 4 – 7 p.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. Interment will be held in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem.