8/9/51 – 7/29/23
Jerome has gone on to seek out and fish new, open waters. Born in Salinas, California to Forrest Prater and Patricia Wiley, he was raised to be an avid outdoorsman and lifelong master fly fisherman. He lived and loved fishing, and his first love in life was handcrafting and casting his own flies, of which he made thousands upon thousands. Dad waded and floated many rivers, high alpine lakes and other bodies of water all over the western states, delicately reeling in the smallest and rarest of trout, as well as having received trophy fish awards from the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His joy was angling the Truckee River and Pyramid Lake with a fly rod, which he did daily, before and after work for many years.
Jerry was an avid reader from an early age, and would consume stacks of books all throughout his life. He loved backpacking, exploring ghost towns, and camping with his family, of which many summers were spent. He enjoyed computers and had an online community that was dear to him, and he very dear to them. A veteran, having served the country from 1969 to 1972, he graduated from the U.S. Army Signal School in 1970 and was stationed in Vietnam.
Jerome married Francis Kathleen Taulbee and together had two children. He is survived by his son Erik Prater of Reno, NV., and his daughter and son-in-law Amber and Joel Sides of Medina, TX., his grandchildren Attican Prater and Eligh Prater, both of Reno, NV., Kyle Prater of Las Vegas, NV., Makayla Moreno and Mariah Moreno, both of Medina, TX., his sister Linda Kline of Dayton, NV., his nephews Adam Serrao of Sierraville, CA. and Jeremy Serrao of Portola, CA., and niece Misty Van Havel of Hawaii.
A private service will be held in spring at a favorite fishing spot of his. We would like to express our gratitude to his friends in Ruth and Ely, to the ladies at the U.S. Post Office for your kindness and help, to his online community for the friendships he was looking for and needed in life, to the White Pine County Sheriff’s Office for your invaluable assistance, and to the nurses and staff at St. George Regional Hospital for your compassion and tender care in his last days.
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