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1. Joseph Robert Prehatny Prentice was b. 16 May 1922 apparently under the birth name of Joseph Robert Prehatny and d. 7 Apr 1997 , Easton, Northampton Co., PA. He is bur. in Memorial Shrine Cemetery, Easton, Northampton Co., PA, under the surname, "Prentice.". He enlisted in the Army Ar Corps in WW II under the surname, "Prentice." It is not know why, or when, he changed his surname before enlisting in the military. His obituary would indicate that neither his father and brother changed their surnames.

He was the son of John Prehatny Sr. (b. c. 1874, Austria), and Anna Sjasji, (b. c. 1870, Austria).

His obituary reads as follows:

JOE PRENTICE, VOICE OF THE CITY, IS SILENT AT 74 * WEST RADIO PERSONALITY ENTERTAINED EASTON LISTENERS FOR 45 YEARS. Joe Prentice, the veteran radio personality whose friendly voice greeted untold numbers of faithful WEST-AM listeners from Harry Truman through Bill Clinton, died Monday night in Easton Hospital after an illness. He was 74.

Born in Hazleton, he was a son of John Prehatny Sr. and Anna (Skasko) Prehatny of Hazleton. He was a member of Ss. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church, Bethlehem.

Over four decades, Prentice became as much a part of the fabric of Easton as its rich colonial history. For 45 years, he delighted listeners from WEST studios on Northampton Street, much of that time as the morning man. One of his popular programs was his live "Breakfast at the WEB" show from the WEB restaurant in the former Orr's store in the Hillcrest Shopping Center in Lopatcong Township. The show, during which Prentice would interview and play games with customers, ran for 15 years until 1991. Prentice last worked at the station Feb. 27. "He was indeed an institution," said a saddened Easton Mayor Thomas Goldsmith. "When you thought of WEST, you had to think of Joe Prentice, and Gene Bethman and Ted Pierce." The passage of time has now taken all of the "big three," the mayor added. New generations succeed older ones in the march of time, but Goldsmith said "nevertheless, it's sad to lose such a wonderful person." Prentice felt a yearning for radio in childhood, said his son Richard of Reston, Va. The story goes that when the elder Prentice's siblings went to the movies, he stayed home, glued to his old crystal radio set. "Since he was a little boy, that's all he wanted to do was be in radio," Richard Prentice said.

A quiet man away from the station, Richard Prentice said his father changed when holding the microphone. "He just loved entertaining the people. He loved to get them to laugh," he said. The younger Prentice said he continually asked his father if it wasn't time to retire. "He kept saying, 'I'm not ready to retire,'" he said. "He just loved getting up to do that radio show. To him, that wasn't work. He just loved it so much." WEST News Director Mike Moore worked with Prentice since 1980 and said Prentice knew the station had a place in the community. He said the veteran did his best to see it kept that place. "He was always worried about the listeners and worried about the radio station," Moore said. Moore said Prentice's dedication ran so deep that Prentice was considering switching a long-planned vacation because there was no one to replace him. "I will never forget that," Moore said. "We lost an incredibly important person," said station General Manager Paige Lamers. "The listening audience has lost a long-time companion."

Former WEST News Director Tim Cain worked with Prentice for 18 years, from 1969 to 1987. He said it was Prentice who gave him his first on-air audition in the summer of 1969. "I remember thinking that day when I walked out what a nice guy he was," Cain recalled. During his 18 years at the station, Cain said, he never heard Prentice say anything bad about anyone. Cain recalled Prentice's dry sense of humor and remembered laughing along a lot of the time. He said Prentice was part of the group of old-timers at the station, the first generation of a sort of extended family of employees. "There was really a group there for a long period of time that somewhat were mentors to those of us who came in later years," Cain said. "Joe was certainly a major member of that family."

Prentice's first hands-on experience with radios came in the Air Force during World War II, when he was a radio operator on B-17 bombing runs over Germany. After the war, he first pursued a radio career at Syracuse University, then at the School of Radio and Television Technique in New York City. He worked for various stations around the country, including WRCM, New Orleans; WGPA, Bethlehem; WPVA, Portsmouth, Va.; WMRF, Lewistown, Mifflin County; and WAEB, Allentown. He was hired at WEST in 1952. In a 1992, Prentice was asked what kept him in radio for such a long time. "Beat's me; it's just a habit," he told The Morning Call. After some thought, he continued, "I think I'm entertaining people. Some people say I have some humor. I know there are some people out there who enjoy listening to me, and that's what keeps me going."

Prentice and his wife, Janice L. (Glassco) Prentice, were married 46 years as of last June. They resided at 4311 Chetwin Terrace in Bethlehem Township.

Surviving with his wife and parents are a son, Richard J. Prentice of Reston, Va.; a brother, John Prehatny Jr. of Wynnewood, Montgomery County; two sisters, Martha Osif and Irene Kaschak, both of Hazleton; two grandchildren and one great-grandson. Services will be 10 a.m. Friday at the church, 1140 Johnston Drive, Bethlehem. Calling hours are 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday in the Ashton Funeral Home, 14th and Northampton streets, Easton. Morning Call, The (Allentown, PA) - Wednesday, April 9, 1997

He m. Janice L. Glassco. Son:

Richard J. Prentice. 1997 in Reston, VA.

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