Eva Bell Prater

Eva Bell Oden Prater was born February 25,1938 in Eolia, Missouri, and was escorted home by the angels on February 11, 2025. She was the youngest of three children of Floyd and Estha Mae Oden. The family moved to Larrabee, Iowa around 1948 to be closer to family. Eva helped with farming tasks. She drove the tractor, gathered the eggs, and detassled the corn to name a few of her chores. She also learned to sew, embroider, and crochet along with other needle work. She was a standout on the high school basketball team and a cheerleader. While visiting an aunt in Missouri, Eva met Jimmie (Jim) Walter Prater at a skating rink in Vandalia. After graduating from Larrabee High School in 1956, she moved to Vandalia because she had fallen in love and wanted to be closer to him. She and Jim married on December 23,1956 and settled down in Mexico, Missouri. They had four children and later took much delight in their 6 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. She helped support the family financially by working for MFA Elevator Company as a receptionist and secretary. The family moved to Eufaula when Jim was transferred in 1969. Eva took secretarial classes at Sparks State Technical College and was hired at Alabama Kraft paper mill now known as Mead-Westvaco. She had several positions with the company including working as secretary for the maintenance department, working in the accounting, credit union, and payroll departments. She then transferred to work as the administrative assistant to the Operations Manager for 12 years. She loved her work and the people but knew it was time to retire after 35.5 years. Eva liked to stay busy. Besides her job and raising her four children, she put up the abundant produce that Jim grew in his gardens. She would often joke that his hobby was her second full-time job. She really loved going antiquing and looking for old kerosene lamps and carnival glass. She also enjoyed tending to her flower gardens. She especially liked roses, geraniums, and pansies. She also liked to make flower arrangements and wreaths. Many people didn’t know her name but called her “the Flower Lady.” She enjoyed cooking and having the family over for Sunday dinners to keep up on what was going on in their lives and to hear of their many accomplishments. She loved having the family together for holiday celebrations, especially at Christmas. She baked pies and cookies along with other tasty sweets, but perhaps her most popular dish was her homemade egg noodles that her mother-in-law taught her to make. Eva was an accomplished seamstress and made most of her and her daughter’s clothes, even making a beautiful wedding dress. Eva lived far away from her Iowa family but kept in contact through frequent phone calls and some always too short vacations. To help her fill the void she would always adopt a mom. In Mexico, it was the next-door neighbor Frances. After moving to Eufaula, she adopted a mom and a dad, Willard and Lucille Branch. They acted like grandparents to her children. After their passing, she adopted a widowed woman, Ms. Mildred, and her mother, Ms. Etta. She wrote in a note to her children, “So all of you who don’t have your own Mom, adopt one. God will bless you.” Her son Doug and his partner Tina were her loving caregivers for the last three years. Whenever anyone called to talk with her she would comment on what good care they were providing. She was a precious treasure, and her memory will live on with her survivors: Three children, Jimmie Wayne Prater (Lisa), Twilia Jean Prater Craft (Robert) of Fort Worth, TX, and Douglas Neil Prater (Tina), 6 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jimmie Walter Prater; son, Evan Wade Prater; granddaughter, Rebecca Yasmin Prater; parents Floyd Orville Oden and Estha Mae Wyble Oden Urban, and stepdad William (Bill) Urban; her brother Orvil Wayne Oden; and sister, Bonnie Sue Miller. Visitation will be held Friday, February 14, 2025, from 9 A.M. in the Chapman Funeral Home Chapel. A private graveside service will be held following the visitation.

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