WESTFIELD – Family Therapist Holly Prater dies at 79. Palmer native Holly Anne Prater has died, just days after her 79th birthday. Holly was well-known in Western Mass as a family therapist, child welfare advocate, and Guardian Ad Litem for institutionalized children. She opened Westfield’s first private therapy practice in 1976 and worked over the years as supervisor, consultant, and social worker for many state agencies, service providers, and counseling services. She was also a child welfare investigator for the Massachusetts trial courts and among the state’s first Licensed (vs. accredited) Independent Clinical Social Workers (LICSW). Holly earned a BA from The Elms and an MSW from UConn, where she played with the Huskies women’s basketball team. A prodigious gardener and amateur arborists, Holly restored historic homes in Springfield, Chicopee, and Russell with her partner, Marsha Montori, with whom she shared 26 dogs and cats over the years. She lived most recently in Westfield, where she had many friends and donated time to Stanley Park, the Westfield Animal Shelter, and the Farmer’s Market.
Holly was predeceased by her parents, Harriet and Carl Prater.
She leaves eight cousins: Scott, Bruce, and James Haley and Kendrick Prater of Palmer; Barbara Prater Stanley and Beverly Prater of Georgetown, MA; Anne Prater Barfield of Reynolds, GA; and Mary Jane Moore of Pensacola, FL. She also leaves a longtime business partner, Barbara Defazzio of DeBary, FL, and many friends and caregivers.
A family gathering will be held in late July. For more information, please visit www.beersandstory.com
