Attorney with close ties to Snow Summit
Robert Paul Pratte Sr., known by all as Bob, died April 29 at age 77 in La Cañada, his home for 48 years.
He worked in his Pasadena law office the day before his death and returned to the Hook Tree Road home he built in 1968 to play with his grandson, Neal Muir of Pasadena. It was the pattern of his life - working at a job he loved and playing with his children and, in his later years, his grandchildren.
He and his bride of 52 years, Mary Virginia ("Ginny"), maintained a home with extra-long kitchen and dining room tables where their friends and their children's friends always were welcomed. The attitude extended to Bob's clients and their families. When clients died, he remained a solid resource for their survivors in financial and legal matters and when they needed a friend.
Snow Summit, the ski resort he represented since 1960, was an important part of his life and a playground for his children and their buddies. He built an A-frame cabin near the Big Bear resort and weekend after weekend, hauled all the La Cañada kids he could fit in his station wagon to the mountains on ski trips.
He was a faithful parishioner of St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church, where his children attended school and his funeral Mass was held Tuesday.
"Family was so important to him and family extended to the church community and the Snow Summit family, business associates and friends," La Cañada endodontist Dr. John Pratte wrote in a tribute to his father. "Children always were treated like family wherever the sphere of Bob Pratte spread.
"He thrived on aiding others to live life to the fullest and his generosity was boundless. How many people would have entire St. Bede Girls Scout troops to their cabins with wall-to-wall sleeping bags?
"This conjures memories of Bob on skis at Snow Summit leading a train of five to seven kids snaking back and forth down the slopes as he yelled out the turn technique, 'Down, up and around.'"
