Obituaries

Edwin Praver peacefully passed away on December 8, 2018 with his family at his bedside. He was born in New York City on July 30, 1924 and enjoyed a very long and fulfilling life. He grew up with his identical twin brother Stan in Long Island.
Ed and Stan were co-captains of the high school swimming team. Ed joined the Navy in 1945 and served as an Ensign on PT boats in the Philippines from 1945-1946. After his honorable discharge from military service he attended and graduated in 1949 from Ohio State University. At Ohio State he met Joan the love of his life and they married in 1948. Their marriage lasted over 70 years and produced three sons.
After graduating from Ohio State Ed joined the family real estate business and in 1952 the business known as Praver & Sons moved to Kansas City. Ed and Stan built single family homes, hospitals, schools, synagogues, apartment houses, shopping centers and a Jewish community center. In 1967 Ed and Stan joined Levitt & Sons and Ed was assigned to the southeast region of the United States to oversee single family track home construction for one of the largest residential home builders in the world.
The corporate world was too restrictive and confining so Ed left Levitt and partnered with Stan to develop and own commercial properties. Praver Brothers Investments was formed and Ed and Stan have enjoyed being in business together for over 65 years.
Ed was a tall man both in height and in prestige. He was a community leader and highly respected for his integrity, honesty, commitment and loyalty; a mensch in every sense of the word. In earlier years, he was addicted to playing golf and has “hole in one” awards and many trophies displayed in his office. Ed was a determined person, competitive, and always doing things “by the book “. In later years Ed, as a serving member of the Board of Directors, used his construction experience to expand Beit T’Shuvah’s residential care facilities. He was involved in major fundraising for Jewish Federation and with Joan traveled to Russia and other far away places to assist Russian and Ethiopian Jews fleeing their homeland to establish Israeli citizenship.
Ed’s deepest commitment was to his best friend Joan who supported him in all of his endeavors, in raising their three sons and spending a lifetime together as his biggest fan and adoring wife.
Ed leaves Joan and their three sons (Stephen, David and Paul), daughters-in-law Susan and April, grandchildren Tori, Rachel and Eden, great grandchildren Ryan and Phoenix, and his brother Stan and sister-in-law Marian. He also leaves behind so many others that were fortunate to meet him and to experience his enthusiasm for giving and for living.
Our gratitude to the caregivers at Angels and Saints Homecare. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Beit T’Shuvah. A memorial service will be held at Hillside Memorial Park located at 6001 Centinela Avenue in Culver City on Wednesday at noon.