August Pryatel

August Pryatel

AUGUST PRYATEL, age 96 of Solon. Retired in 1989 as Chief Justice Eighth District Ohio Court of Appeals. Passed away peacefully February 22, 2010. Beloved husband of Elaine (nee Turk); dear step-father of Donald Voss and David (Nancy) Voss; loving grandfather of Morgan and Meredith; brother of the late Mary (Frank) Baraga, Alice (Louis) Kretic, Frances (Joseph) Suster, Sr. Mary Andre SND, Frank, and Rose Pryatel; proud uncle of Judge Ronald Suster (Patricia), Marie Oblak, Martha Ragones, and numerous great nieces and nephews. Mass of Christian Burial Friday February 26, 10AM at St. Joan of Arc Church, 496 E. Washington St., Chagrin Falls (please meet at church). Interment All Souls Cemetery, Chardon. Family will visit with friends at KINDRICH-McHUGH STEINBAUER FUNERAL HOME, 33375 BAINBRIDGE RD., SOLON FROM 3-7 PM THURSDAY. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials be made to Rose-Mary Center, 19350 Euclid Ave., Euclid, OH 44117.

 

 

August Pryatel was the youngest of seven children, born to immigrant parents who came to America from Slovenia at the beginning of the 20th century.  When he was only 4 years old he was stricken with polio, which left his right leg paralyzed.  He then attended Sunbeam School for Crippled C hildren and went on to attend East High School, where he excelled as a scholar and student leader.

Funds his parents had saved for his college education were frozen in the bank seizures of the Great Depression.  However, because of his outstanding high school academic record, he was invited to attend Hiram College, where he worked in the treasurer's office to earn his tuition and expenses.  He recalled his college life with appreciation and affection, for it was there that he honed his leadership talents and knew he wanted to be a lawyer.  He graduated from Hiram College in 1936 and worked as an accountant, attending night law school at the Cleveland Marshall School of Law (now CSU).  Admitted to the Bar in 1942, he joined the Davis and Young Law Firm, where he practiced his first experiences in the court room.  In 1944 he became a Cleveland city prosecutor and was assigned to the trial of jury cases, representing the City of Cleveland before the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Ohio.
In 1949 he was appointed Deputy Superintendent of Insurance for the State of Ohio and in 1955 became Superintendent of Insurance.  For his outstanding leadership there, Ohio State University awarded him the Public Service Medal from the Griffith Foundation for Insurance Education.  In 1957  Governor Frank Lausche appointed him to the Cleveland Municipal Court.  He was elected Chief Justice in 1960 and served in that capacity until 1964, when he was elected to the Common Pleas Court.  After two terms in the Common Pleas Court he was elected to the 8th District Ohio Court of Appeals for two terms.  He retired in 1989 after serving 32 years as a judge. He was a life member of the Cleveland, Ohio and American Bar Associations   In 1973 he married Elaine Turk Voss.  They celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary last November.  He was actively involved in many community organizations and served for years on various Boards of Trustees.  Among them were Rose Mary Center (the Johanna Grasselli Rehabilitation and Education Center), Suburban Community Hospital (SouthPointe), and the Greater Cleveland Safety Council.  He was a founding member/trustee of the Slovenian American Heritage Society.
He received the Distinguished Service Award of Hiram College Alumni Association in 1967 and in 1973 was named a Fellow of the Garfield Society by Hiram College trustees.  In 1984 he received theO utstanding Alumnus  Award from CSU College of Law.
Judge Pryatel had a deep and abiding respect for the law and the special dignity of the court room.  He was considered a strict, firm, fair judge and was respected and admired by lawyers and colleagues alike.  Concerned mentor to all of his law clerks, he carefully directed and counseled them in the development of their legal skills.  He took great pride in their (post-clerk) careers and was deeply touched and proud when he learned several years ago that one of his clerks was named a judge in the trial court of California. He was especially influential in the life of his nephewRonald Suster in whose family home Pryatel spent his early adult life.  He was his role model, as Suster followed in his  uncle's footsteps to become a Common Pleas Court  judge, where he has served for the past thirteen years.
He was an accomplished speaker and gave many speeches regarding the legal process and his court room experiences, often punctuating them with amusing, human anecdotes.  He had a gentle wit and a timely come-back making him a warm and friendly conversationalist.