Colgate S Prentice

Colgate Selden Prentice (“Coke”) died on July 28th, 2016, in Medford, NJ, with his three children by his side. Born on January 10th, 1924 in Newport News, Virginia to a southern mother and Yankee father, Coke spent much of his childhood in Tidewater Virginia, raised by a strong and loving mother, and nurtured by doting aunts. Coke’s family also spent several years in Buffalo, NY where his father worked at the Sikes Cutler Desk Company.  In 1943, at the age of 19, Coke joined the US Army Air Corps and served in the Pacific theater as a Chief Gunner on a B29.  After the war, Coke attended college at Swarthmore, where he developed an interest in politics and government. While visiting Smith College one weekend, he met Harris Wofford later a US Senator from Pennsylvania who had founded the Student World Federalists, an organization promoting a union of democracies. Inspired by Wofford’s idealism, Coke joined the organization and eventually served as its president. He then took a year off from college and toured the country, speaking on behalf of the organization at colleges, universities as well as on the radio.   It was at a World Federalist meeting on the Yale campus that Coke met and fell in love with Pamela Davis, who was a student at Bryn Mawr College. Because of the proximity between Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore, they were able to continue their romance, and later married on September 2, 1950. Coke then continued his education, receiving a Master’s degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs.  Coke began his long career in the US government in 1951, spending several years on Capitol Hill working for Senator Howard Alexander Smith of New Jersey, Senator Sherman Cooper of Kentucky, and Congressman Peter Frelinghuysen of New Jersey. He also spent two years as an executive assistant to then Vice President Richard Nixon, and in several key positions at the US Department of State, including as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations, from 1969 to 1973. Coke loved Washington - the low skyline and graceful buildings, and even the political environment; those were the days of a more congenial Washington. Coke retired from the government in 1980.  Coke was not just a government man; he was a man of the heart and home. Known for his kindness and generosity, his nieces and nephews nominated him as their favorite uncle. He adored his wife and three children and on many a morning, with Beethoven on the hi fi, he could be found bringing coffee to his wife, and cooking breakfast for their children. Even at bedtime, Coke would often read to his children and tuck them into bed with a story, prayer, or song. His children have especially fond memories of swimming and playing with him during summers at their grandmother’s home in the western hills of Connecticut.  In later years, after Pam developed dementia, they moved to the Medford Leas Retirement Community, in Medford, NJ. There, Coke cared for her with extraordinary devotion, rarely leaving her side. This devotion was natural for him and the admiration from the Medford Leas community surprised him. In his mind, he was simply doing what any husband would do. Coke was beloved by the Medford Leas staff and residents; in fact, caregivers and nurses recognized him as one of the most likable and grateful of residents. He never complained, and instead expressed his appreciation for the beauty and love around him.  Coke is survived by his three children, Christine Prentice, Stephen Prentice, and Selden Prentice; grandchildren Shawneah Mondzelewski, Thatcher Woodley, Thomas Woodley, Peter Woodley, Claire Hobby, Kate Blackstone and Hilary Blackstone; and great grandchildren Jackson Mondzelewski, Colgate Woodley, Oliver Woodley, and Evie Hobby; and loving companion for the last thirteen, years, Jean Henderson.  We will remember Coke as a man who loved deeply, worked diligently, and showed great perseverance and devotion in all aspects of his life.  A Memorial Service for Coke will be held on Saturday, August 27th, 2016 at 4:00 PM in the Holly Room at Medford Leas, 1 Medford Leas Way, Medford, NJ.  Memorial donations in Colgate Prentice’s name can be made to the Westport Land Conservation Trust.  (Website: http://westportlandtrust.org/, mailing address: PO Box 3975, Westport,  MA 02790)  www.BradleyStow.com

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