[GreenKeys] Burt Prall WA9??? (SK)

[Jim Haynes]

Death Notice: BERT A. PRALL
April 20, 2008

Bert A. Prall, telecommunications historian, electronics expert and small
business owner/operator died peacefully in his home on March 30, 2008, at
the age of 78.

He was an exceptional teacher and wonderful friend to many.

Born in Chicago, IL on Sept.

15, 1929, Bert lived in Winnetka, IL until 1978.

His fascination with mechanical and electrical devices drove his lifetime
pursuits.

As a young man Bert embarked on a lifetime of community service, serving
in the Illinois National Guard, providing technical services to the Winnetka
Fire Department, and volunteering his radio and communications expertise
to the Cook County Civil Defense and Arlington Heights Civil Defense.

He was a member of the Associated Public-Safety Communications Officers.

Through those organizations Bert was instrumental in the installation and
operation of a widespread public safety radio and Teletype network throughout
Illinois.

Bert held amateur radio license WA9DZY and participated in the development
of RTTY, Teletype over wireless transmission.

Professionally, he was the president of Midwest Variety, Inc., the owner
and operator of the Ben Franklin Department Stores in the Chicago area.

Bert also had a lifetime interest in narrow-gauge steam trains and
volunteered many summers in service to the Denver & Rio Grand Western
Railroad in Colorado and was a member of the Railroading and Locomotive
Historical Society.

Bert moved to San Antonio, TX in 1978 to become affiliated with Datapoint
Corporation where he installed much of the Datapoint ARCNET system, the
first Local Area Computer Network.

He also founded South Texas Telecom, a telecommunications installation
and servicing company.

Most recently Bert consulted for Vugate, PhotoTelesis Corp.
and E-Watch Corp.

Bert's lifelong passion was telephone history, and he dedicated much of
his time to the study of and restoration of antique telephone equipment.

He was very active in the Antique Telephone Collectors Association and in
the Telephone Collectors International, dedicating thousands of hours to
teaching and helping others in the field.

He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

Bert Prall is survived by his cousins, Barbara Hoefer Hanson of Voorhees, NJ,
Douglas Hoefer and Paul Hoefer of Freeport, IL and their mother, Jean Merrill
Hoefer, also of Freeport.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Bert R. Prall and Luella P. Prall
and by his sister Barbara Prall.

Celebration of life Memorial Service Wednesday, April 23, 2008 2 p.m.
Please call 210-349-2020 for the location and directions.

Donations may be made in Bert's honor to The Doc Porter Museum of Telephone
History, 1714 Ashland St., Houston, TX 77008.

Interment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, Skokie, IL. You are invited
to sign the guestbook at www.porterloring.com Arrangements with Porter
Loring, 1101 McCullough Ave. San Antonio, TX 78212.

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Now an addendum to this.  His collection of stuff went to the Doc Porter
Musum in Houston.  However that museum closed when AT&T sold the building
it was using.  Now I see there is a web site that you can google for.
It seems to have relocated to Bellaire, TX.

David Monroe in San Antonio is one of the Datapoint alumni, and has
started a technology museum there.  Google for SAMSAT.  It is located
in the former chapel of the former Kelly AFB.  It is just getting
started, as the collection was formerly housed in David's place of
business, e-watch.com