Roll Call Tribute
Hal Pruett Jr. '68 July 16, 2020 2:00 PM updated: July 16, 2020 2:05 PM
Hal Clinton Pruett Jr.
JANUARY 29, 1945 – JUNE 30, 2020
Hal Pruett was born on January 29, 1945 in Galveston, Texas. After graduating from LaMarque High School, he attended Texas A&M University and briefly was a member of the Corps of Cadets. His passion for A&M remained strong throughout his entire lifetime. If you knew Hal, you knew he was a devout Aggie and there was no football other than Aggie football.
He began dating Nancy Blackwell during his college days. Their bond was quick, but it took a while for Hal to convince Nancy that he was the one. However, his persistence paid off and they married on March 15, 1969. They lived in San Antonio for several years while he served as a member of the United States Air Force. During that time, his oldest son, Mark, was born. While he loved building his family in San Antonio, Hal wanted to move back home to the Houston area.
They moved to Houston, where he lived out the rest of his life. There they became even closer to their extended family and built lifelong friendships. While he and Nancy loved their family of three, they wished for one more child. After losing several children during pregnancies, their second son, Andrew, was born. Hal loved all of his children deeply and never forgot those in Heaven. He finally got what he could only wish for in life - getting to hold those he lost in Heaven.
Hal had three great loves in his life – his bride Nancy, his family, and Texas A&M football. For Hal, all three were intertwined. You could not love one without loving all. You also could not talk to Hal without talking about all. Hal was very proud of his sons and wife.
Hal worked several jobs in Houston, but his favorite was for the City of Houston Water Department. There, he met many lifelong friends and was able to do work to help his community. He would often talk of those friends with great fondness. Prior to Hal’s retirement, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. The disease progressed, as incurable diseases do, but Hal did not let that stop him. When he retired, he tuned into his hobbies full time. In the early days, he continued his artwork. Hal was a gifted artist and loved to paint. Over his life, he painted everything from tiny models to large Star Wars murals on his son’s bedroom wall. However, Parkinson’s soon took the joy out of that craft so he focused on his other hobbies.
Hal loved to garden and was a skilled gardener, particularly with citrus trees. He loved building model trains and would proudly show you the trains he’d scored great deals on and then restored to their full potential. The trains perfectly blended his love of finding a bargain and turning it into something valuable. He also loved music, which he often shared with anyone in the house. And, last but not least, his love of Aggie football would forever reign supreme. He loved to rewatch old games and call his brother in law Jack to discuss them. Theirs was a good friendship that spanned six decades.
Hal loved his grandsons. He would talk about them often and was always interested in what they were doing. He would laugh at their silly, nonsense stories and loved holding them while they stroked his beard and tried to steal his glasses. He would save newspaper articles to give to the ones who were interested in the space program and send them magazine subscriptions he thought they’d enjoy. He was always looking for additional ways to connect with them. He, of course, also worked hard on indoctrinating them with a love of A&M and Aggie football.
In more recent years, he struggled. True to his nature, though, and with considerable help from Nancy, Hal pushed through. He had many health difficulties and always came back from them. Even if he’d wanted to quit, Nancy steadfastly kept him going. He survived Covid-19 in March and tested negative for the virus for months after recovering. Despite this, it came back. Hal passed away while in hospice care on June 30, 2020 due to pneumonia leftover from Covid-19. He leaves behind his wife of more than 50 years, Nancy, his sister Verna Ann, his sons, Mark and Andrew, his daughters-in-law Karen (Mark) and Nadia (Andrew), and five grandsons.
The family asks that you honor Hal by wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands so that no one else has to suffer like he did.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you send donations in honor of Hal to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research :
Donation Processing, The Michael J. Fox Foundation,
P.O. Box 5014
Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.
https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate
A small private family service will be held.
© 2020 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
JANUARY 29, 1945 – JUNE 30, 2020
Hal Pruett was born on January 29, 1945 in Galveston, Texas. After graduating from LaMarque High School, he attended Texas A&M University and briefly was a member of the Corps of Cadets. His passion for A&M remained strong throughout his entire lifetime. If you knew Hal, you knew he was a devout Aggie and there was no football other than Aggie football.
He began dating Nancy Blackwell during his college days. Their bond was quick, but it took a while for Hal to convince Nancy that he was the one. However, his persistence paid off and they married on March 15, 1969. They lived in San Antonio for several years while he served as a member of the United States Air Force. During that time, his oldest son, Mark, was born. While he loved building his family in San Antonio, Hal wanted to move back home to the Houston area.
They moved to Houston, where he lived out the rest of his life. There they became even closer to their extended family and built lifelong friendships. While he and Nancy loved their family of three, they wished for one more child. After losing several children during pregnancies, their second son, Andrew, was born. Hal loved all of his children deeply and never forgot those in Heaven. He finally got what he could only wish for in life - getting to hold those he lost in Heaven.
Hal had three great loves in his life – his bride Nancy, his family, and Texas A&M football. For Hal, all three were intertwined. You could not love one without loving all. You also could not talk to Hal without talking about all. Hal was very proud of his sons and wife.
Hal worked several jobs in Houston, but his favorite was for the City of Houston Water Department. There, he met many lifelong friends and was able to do work to help his community. He would often talk of those friends with great fondness. Prior to Hal’s retirement, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. The disease progressed, as incurable diseases do, but Hal did not let that stop him. When he retired, he tuned into his hobbies full time. In the early days, he continued his artwork. Hal was a gifted artist and loved to paint. Over his life, he painted everything from tiny models to large Star Wars murals on his son’s bedroom wall. However, Parkinson’s soon took the joy out of that craft so he focused on his other hobbies.
Hal loved to garden and was a skilled gardener, particularly with citrus trees. He loved building model trains and would proudly show you the trains he’d scored great deals on and then restored to their full potential. The trains perfectly blended his love of finding a bargain and turning it into something valuable. He also loved music, which he often shared with anyone in the house. And, last but not least, his love of Aggie football would forever reign supreme. He loved to rewatch old games and call his brother in law Jack to discuss them. Theirs was a good friendship that spanned six decades.
Hal loved his grandsons. He would talk about them often and was always interested in what they were doing. He would laugh at their silly, nonsense stories and loved holding them while they stroked his beard and tried to steal his glasses. He would save newspaper articles to give to the ones who were interested in the space program and send them magazine subscriptions he thought they’d enjoy. He was always looking for additional ways to connect with them. He, of course, also worked hard on indoctrinating them with a love of A&M and Aggie football.
In more recent years, he struggled. True to his nature, though, and with considerable help from Nancy, Hal pushed through. He had many health difficulties and always came back from them. Even if he’d wanted to quit, Nancy steadfastly kept him going. He survived Covid-19 in March and tested negative for the virus for months after recovering. Despite this, it came back. Hal passed away while in hospice care on June 30, 2020 due to pneumonia leftover from Covid-19. He leaves behind his wife of more than 50 years, Nancy, his sister Verna Ann, his sons, Mark and Andrew, his daughters-in-law Karen (Mark) and Nadia (Andrew), and five grandsons.
The family asks that you honor Hal by wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands so that no one else has to suffer like he did.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you send donations in honor of Hal to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research :
Donation Processing, The Michael J. Fox Foundation,
P.O. Box 5014
Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.
https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate
A small private family service will be held.
© 2020 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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