Uncrowned Community Builders

Ethel Lane Pratcher was born April 8, 1927 to Rosetta and Fitzroy Dove in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. She had three siblings, Fitzroy, Geneva Lucas and Placid Jean Parker (also an Uncrowned Community Builder).

Ethel was educated in the New Jersey Public School system. She trained as a nurse and worked 25 years at Sisters of Charity Hospital in Buffalo, New York until her retirement in May 1986. This is the time when our Lord intervened and called her to be a channel of his communication.

Giving all honor and glory to God, who was the head of her life, a feeling of great enthusiasm was present in Ethel to study the Bible in depth. A thirst for his knowledge and the wisdom to understand His word prevailed. In 1999, she graduated from Houghton College Pastoral and Ministries Program as a Diploma Christian Minister. Ethel was also a Certified United Methodist Lay Speaker at Metropolitan United Methodist Church where Rev. Maggie Boyd served as pastor. In addition, she taught the Adult Sunday School at Hope Kensington United Methodist Church where Rev. Cassandra Salter Smith served as pastor.

Another fulfilling role was to serve as interim Bible Class teacher for the Senior Citizens at the Emslie YMCA. In 2004, Ethel relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. While in Louisville, she took religion courses at Simmons College and was highly regarded as a model student.
Ethel was gifted with many talents. She had a beautiful singing voice and was often asked to sing the Lord's Prayer at weddings. She was a talented seamstress and prided herself on keeping up with fashion trends. She had a wonderful sense of decor and her apartment was the talk of the building. Ethel loved the arts, especially the theater and the film world. Her recall of old movies was remarkable and she enjoyed talking about the lives of the stars. People felt accepted in her presence and she was loved for her sense of humor and her ability to see the bright side of things. She was a great conversationalist and the best part of your day could be a talk with Ethel.

All that she meant to her family and her friends cannot be captured in these few lines. She was a precious mother and grandmother, a wonderful aunt and a beloved friend. She loved life and gave love to others. Her family and friends are left with her graciousness, her kindness, her willingness to listen and her absolute joy and love for God.

Ethel was blessed to be the wife of her beloved husband, Marvin, the mother of three daughters, Faith, Cyd and Toni and a grandmother of one granddaughter, Burgess. Ethel died on April 15, 2012 and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York.