Obit: Jerry Praver SF Folk Club (1939-2018)

Subject: Obit: Jerry Praver (April 30, 2018)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 May 18 - 03:03 AM

Bev Praver posted this on Facebook on April 30, 2018:

It is with heavy heart that I announce the passing of my life-long partner, soulmate and husband. Jerry passed peacefully this morning and went on to join our dear friend Redmond O’Colonies where they are somewhere proclaiming celestial events and telling silly stories.

Jerry was one of those wonderful Old Folkies who took me under his wing. I'll miss him. He and Bev knew each other as kids in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. They sang some of the most beautiful close harmony I've ever heard. Jerry used to wear a T-shirt that said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I AM a rocket scientist." He retired early from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he and Bev pursued their music passion. They traveled around in an RV, singing and telling stories at schools. Jerry tuned five autoharps for the kids every morning, and he may well have been the fastest autoharp tuner that ever lived. Later in life, Jerry and Bev became town criers, and went to town crier sessions all over. Their first of many Mudcat posts was in 1998. Oh, and they worked as volunteers at a lighthouse near their home, and they were very active members of the San Francisco Folk Music Club.

My favorite Bev and Jerry song was Seven Wonders.

He was a wonderful man. May he rest in peace.


-Joe-

Take a listen to Bev and Jerry singing "Velcro":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK9NV0DdaSI

Subject: RE: Obit: Jerry Praver (April 30, 2018) SF Folk Club
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 03 May 18 - 07:59 AM

I was sorry to read about Jerry's passing. I have added his name to the "In Memoriam" thread. My condolences to all those who know and love him.

RIP

Peter

Subject: RE: Obit: Jerry Praver (April 30, 2018) SF Folk Club
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Jun 18 - 09:09 PM

The Folknik newsletter of the San Francisco Folk Music Club came out today. Here's the club's obituary for Jerry:


Jerry Praver (1939-2018)
by Deborah Sandler

We have lost one of our best. Singer-songwriter extraordinaire, town crier, and folk club stalwart Jerry Praver died on April 30, 2018 of cancer, just shy of his 79th birthday and 58th wedding anniversary.
Because folk singing and songwriting came so naturally to Jerry, we assume he did that all his life, but he had a scientific past – including working at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he processed pictures from the Mars landing.
Jerry and Bev met when Jerry was 13 and Bev was 11. They married right after Jerry graduated from college, and moved west. They joined the Riverside Folk Song Society where they were influenced to become folksingers. Jerry and Bev started playing in schools in
1981, and went fulltime in 1987, having booked 50 schools in 5 months.
Jerry wrote 35 songs and 17 parodies with Bev. Their partnership was legendary, and their love for each other shone brightly in each song. Their voices blended together seamlessly. Their parody workshops made us laugh so hard our smile muscles hurt. Jerry’s first song was written in 1977 during a walk in Cleveland. The muse grabbed him and he ran into a drugstore for pencil and paper. The muse’s call could be abrupt, once causing him to suddenly pull off the highway to write, too busy with the song to tell Bev why he had stopped. They made three recordings: Old Songs for the Young at Heart, Are We There Yet? and Going Places, and published a songbook:
Signs of the Times. Numerous videos of Jerry and Bev can
be found on YouTube, including their song “Velcro”.
Redmond O’Colonies convinced Bev and Jerry to become town criers. They became San Luis Obispo County’s official Town Criers in 2000, and delighted Camp Harmony with their schtick. In 2015, Jerry took second place honors in a worldwide Town Crier competition in New Zealand.
Jerry is survived by his loving wife and partner Bev, and daughters Linda and Debbie. Bev requests that any memorial donations be made to the Camp Harmony Campership Fund.
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Editor’s note: Bob Reid created a wonderful video in memoriam for Jerry, and it is posted on YouTube. The audio is “Sing With Me”, written by Jerry for Bev, after 50 years of singing together, and recorded by Vicki Solomon at Camp Harmony. A slide show of Bev & Jerry photos accompanies the song. Search for “Jerry Praver” on YouTube.

Subject: RE: Obit: Jerry Praver (April 30, 2018) SF Folk Club
From: Amos
Date: 21 Jun 18 - 10:58 PM

My condolences about Jerry. We didn't see them often but when we did it was always a pleasure . They put us up the night after Mudlark's funeral, many years ago, and sold us an autoharp. I loved singing with them.

Subject: ADD: ACME (Bev and Jerry Praver)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 Apr 20 - 12:12 AM

Bev just sang this song tonight. She says Jerry wrote most of it.

Thread #63105   Message #3853045
Posted By: Bev and Jerry
29-Apr-17 - 04:33 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: songs about hot dogs
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: song about hot dogs

Here's one we wrote way back in 1979:

ACME by Bev and Jerry

chorus:

Who puts the ham in the hamburger and the dog in the old hot dogs?
Who serves genuine beef by products from the finest Iowa hogs?
Who uses only pure bred horses of the finest pedigree?
It's the A-C-M-E Acme Fast Food Factory


1. I was rollin' down the interstate when I saw that neon light
It was an Acme Fast Food Factory so I just pulled in for a bite
I got me a hot dog on a bun - it was the worst 'thing I ever ate
So I called the manager over to me and we commenced a big debate

2. The manager said to me, "Look here, boy I don't wanna hear you whine
Right out there in front of the place I put a great big warning sign"
So I went outside to read that sign, ending our dialogue
And there it was just as plain as day, it said, "Boy, beware of the dog"

3. The next thing I knew I was laid out flat and the doctor had just arrived
He said to me, "Boy, you had a close call, it's lucky that you survived"
I thought to myself, "I'm poisoned for sure" as I contemplated my last meal
But I was hurt runnin' down the road chasin' an automobile

4. So when you're drivin' down the road and you hanker for a bite to eat
Fall into an Acme and get yourself a ptomaine treat
From Canada to Mexico, from New York to 'Frisco Bay
Ilt's the A-C-M-E Acme, endorsed by the AMA

Bev and Jerry