Janey (Watts) Prather

Janey Watts Prather, 72, better known as “Aunt Janey,” leapt into the arms of angels at 4:25 pm on Saturday, October 26, 2019 with her loved ones at her side. Her heavenly Father had been calling her home for a few days… she shared a few days prior that she had slept “too good” the night before. When asked what she meant by that, she said, “I slipped away and saw Jesus.” When asked what she was doing back, she said “I just feel bad for all of you guys.” Janey had been battling an extended illness with considerable pain for the past several years, but she remained ever optimistic that a remedy could be found. Even when it was her time to go home, she was thinking of others.

Janey was born June 8, 1947, in a little house up in a holler down in Breathitt County Kentucky to Helen Marie Combs (Watts) and Carl Watts, the first of five children. Her family moved North when she was very young and Janey lived most of her life in Miami County Indiana. She went to school in Peru until her junior year of high school, and graduated from Maconaquah High School in 1965. She worked as a Carhop at Penguin Point through high school and took her first job after high school at Square D in Peru, where she met Daryle Lee Prather, the love of her life. They were married at the Peru First Brethren Church on December 23, 1967. 

Janey was an enthusiastic parent and homemaker when they began their family, making clothes and Halloween costumes for their four kids. Once Janey and Daryle moved out by Mississinewa Lake, they routinely welcomed numerous people. There never was a stranger in their home. All the neighbor kids were always hanging out, eating some macaroni soup or rice crispy treats, sledding, and going for trips out to the Prather pool and the hotdog stand in the summers. Janey loved being a member of a wonderful bunch of ladies known as the Country Friends Extension Homemakers Club where she made many dear friends who have sustained her on her life’s journey and filled her life with much laughter.

She gave tirelessly of her time to many organizations in her lifetime, particularly the Peru First Brethren Church where she organized spectacular Bible Schools every Summer for many years. She had a servant’s heart for children, dedicating many years to the Girl Scouts and the American Heritage Girls organizations. She volunteered for the American Red Cross for many years teaching people how to do CPR and first aid, later working for them as well. She also dedicated time to another organization called the Northern Indiana Emmaus Community whose mission is to develop Christian leaders for the local church and the world, examining Christ’s model of servanthood as an example for us all. Janey loved to travel and was thrilled to get to visit the Holy Lands with Daryle in 1995. She also enjoyed annual trips out to Arizona in the winters to visit with three of their children and six of their grandchildren. 

Janey’s faith in Jesus Christ was the cornerstone of her life, and she worked on many mission trips to South Eastern Kentucky to the Lost Creek Christian Training School.

Janey was generous and kind, honest with her opinions, but always loving. She was a surrogate mom to many and more of a sister than a friend to most. She was Aunt Janey to everyone else. She was a talented artist and life-long crafter, sewing, crocheting, and making baby blankets. Her hands were always busy, even long after her body began to slow. Her heart was true and her love for her family unending. Her happiest legacy is her four children and eight grandchildren, though there are many others of you she counted as her own as well. You know who you are and she made sure you knew you were loved. 

Janey is survived by her beloved husband, Daryle Lee Prather of fifty-one years, and their four children and spouses, Darra Prather-Day and Rick Day, Darin Prather and Lori Vail Prather all of Scottsdale Arizona, Davina Prather Anglemyer and Barry Anglemyer of Chandler Arizona, and David Prather and Emily Salmons Prather of Galveston Indiana; plus eight grandchildren, Megan, Ethan, Payton, Talon, Jada, Aliyah, Ava, and Lila.  She is survived by her sister, Jerri Watts Bunker and brother, Larry Joe Watts of Peru Indiana, and many nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Helen Marie Combs (Watts) in 2009, and Carl Watts in 1990, along with her brother, James Watts in 1996 and sister, Judy Watts Scholl in 2014. 

Please visit with us at the McClain Funeral Home on Friday, November 1, 2019, from 3-7 pm.  A celebration of her life will be at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, November 2, 2019, at McClain Funeral Home, 3500 West State Road 16, Denver, Indiana, 46926. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Northern Indiana Emmaus Community (Chrysalis) organization or the Peru chapter of the American Heritage Girls organization. Donations can be sent to the McClain Funeral Home at PO Box 248, Denver, IN 46926.  Condolences may be shared with the family online at www.mcclainfh.com. 

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