Obituary of Anna Prehoda

Anna Prehoda Granville, NY – Anna "Hannitcha" Prehoda joined her parents, brothers and sisters at the table of the Lord on March 23, nearly 4 years to the hour that her sister Mary Prehoda Macura passed away. Anna…Nanny as we affectionally called her, was born in Hubbard, Ohio on November 7, 1919. Nanny was predeceased by her parents, Michael and Anna (Billow) Prehoda, as well as siblings Michael, George, William, Mary and Margaret. Nanny's early family life was quite unique as her parents were among the three Prehoda Brothers who married three Billow sisters and besides her own brothers and sisters, she grew up on Park Street with eleven cousins. She graduated from Granville High School in 1936. During WW II she and her sister Mary worked at the Remington Arms factories in Bridgeport, Connecticut, they were our Rosie the Riveters. Later she worked in at General Electric in Schenectady before returning to the Granville area. Nanny and a cousin Mary Prehoda were employed in Dorset, Vermont, maintaining the household of Lincoln Isham and his wife Leahalma. Lincoln Isham was the great grandson of Abraham Lincoln and maintained an estate consisting of his home, a cottage and a studio on the West Road in Dorset. Nanny was in charge of keeping things running smoothly, she was also in charge of the seasonal help and did the marketing. Mr. Isham was an avid golfer, had his own putting green, and frequently entertained his golfing, social and artist friends. During the late 40's and early 50's Nanny worked in the high society setting of the Art Deco Carlyle Hotel on the upper East Side of Manhattan, where she managed the Isham's winter home. Mrs. Isham passed away in September, 1960 and Mr. Isham continued to spend his time in the Dorset-Manchester area. Over the years, the Ishams entertained many of the artists and socially prominent people in the Dorset-Manchester area. Nanny became acquainted with the artists and she modeled for some paintings. Her interest in art grew and her residence in Granville contained many Vermont landscape paintings from the Dorset art community, one of which was a portrait of her wearing a Russian fur hat. She passed her interests on to her nieces and nephews with presents of her artist acquaintances. One of her artist friends, Art Jones, Nichols Hill Rd. in Dorset still corresponded with Nanny until just recently. Nanny retired in 1971 upon the death of Mr. Isham, and returned to her family home in Granville to care for her mother. Nanny was an avid knitter and knitted afghans with intricate patterns and made crewel paintings and pillows. She loved doing the New York Times crossword puzzles on Sunday. She was an avid Yankee fan, watching each season for many years. In later years, she developed macular degeneration and had to give up driving and her hobbies, which was very difficult for her. She enjoyed family holidays at her sister Mary's home where wonderful ethnic food was celebrated and consumed, traveling to Maine for lobster, visiting the Amish country, and traveling to her birth place in Hubbard, Ohio with sister Mary and niece Marta. Nanny was fiercely independent and in later years she resisted any attempt to help her, but after several falls and a second broken hip, we could no longer let her live alone in the family home in Granville. Nanny was placed in an adult home in Hoosick Falls, just minutes away from niece Elyssa and very close to grandniece Tracey. They continued to look in on her on weekends and in between. Nanny was included in family gatherings at Tracey's home until it was too difficult for her to travel. Nanny was also frequently visited by niece Marta and cousin Trudy as well as relatives from the Bridgeport, Connecticut area. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated by Rev. Robert Hospodar, at a later date, at Saints Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church in Granville. Burial will be in the family plot at the church cemetery next to Susan Prehoda Campbell as Nanny requested. Susan "Sally" was the daughter of George and Suzy Prehoda. Suzy died shortly after Sally was born and Sally was brought up by Nanny's parents. Nanny developed a special bond with Sally as a younger sister and made it her responsibility in later years to look after Sally and her children. Vicnaja Pamjat The family wishes to extend a special thank you to Father Tom Zelker who visited Nanny and gave her Last Rites. Also, many thanks to Jim Terrio and Phil Thomas for helping Nanny throughout the years, as well as the compassionate staff at The Center for their care and concern. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Robert M King Funeral Home, 23 Church St., Granville, NY.