James (Jim) Lee Pranger, age 86, of Spearfish, SD, passed away on Monday, October 12, 2009, of congestive heart failure.

A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 16, 2009, at the Hillsview Church of the Nazarene, 1200 North 10th Street, Spearfish. A military interment will be conducted at the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis at 3:00 p.m. Kinkade Funeral Chapel of Sturgis is in charge of the arrangements.

James (Jim) was born August 11, 1923, in Platte, SD, to John H. and Alyce (Van der Voort) Pranger. He graduated from Platte High School in 1941, and later completed a number of Diploma programs through Moody Bible Institute's correspondence school. In addition, he furthered his education through workshops offered by the American Sunday School Union.

Upon graduation from high school he worked a year in Lead, SD, and then joined the U.S. Army. After leaving the Army, Jim soon began work in the first of his three vocations, serving as a telegraph operator for railroads in South Dakota and Iowa. After a transforming encounter with God in 1952, he sensed the call to ministry, and spent the rest of his life seeking to be faithful to this call. In 1955, he and Dorothy were assigned by the American Sunday School Union (now the American Missionary Fellowship) to serve 10 counties in northeast Missouri. Later, he was assigned to a fund-raising challenge in Texas. Because of family health issues, he resigned from the American Sunday School Union in 1968. However, he continued ministering to others, including serving as pastor to the church at Young School House in Texas and working with senior citizens in various communities. Jim began employment with the U.S. Post Office in 1968 and worked in the Austin, TX, area until his retirement in 1985.

Jim loved music and this talent was evident in elementary school, and by 7th grade he was playing his trumpet as 1st chair in the high school band. He received a number of first's or superior ratings in high school music contests. As an adult, he played in several bands, and was instrumental in organizing various musical groups in the Army and in civilian life. Jim played a wide range of instruments - from trumpet to most of the string instruments, accordion, and autoharp. His love for music persisted throughout his life. These musical talents were a great outlet for ministry and service to others as well as personal enjoyment.

His life-long partner in these endeavors has been Dorothy May Norris whom he married in 1945 in Sioux Falls. After retirement, Jim and his wife, Dorothy, returned to the Black Hills in 2001. He and Dorothy worked together as a team in all their activities, and celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary in March of 2009. Jim appreciated deeply God's blessing on his life and sought by example and teaching to encourage others to be responsive to God's grace and mercy as well.

Those left to honor his memory, in addition to his wife, are his sisters, Wilma Helen Gustafson of Spearfish, SD, and Josephine Genevieve Kovacevich of Long Beach, CA; his brother, Donald Leroy (Rosemary) of Medford, OR; and nieces, numerous cousins, and many friends in Missouri and Texas. He was preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Hospice of Northern Hills, 1440 N. Main St., Spearfish, S.D. 57783 or a fund that will be disbursed to a Christian ministry.