John T. Prill Bangor, Maine Obituary

John T. Prill

<p>John Tate Prill of Bangor, Maine (CWO4 USCG Retired) – affectionately known as “Captain John” to his friends – died of natural causes at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center late Sunday, December 20th, 2020. He was 73 years old.</p><p><br></p><p>John was born November 27th, 1947 in Englewood, New Jersey to parents Erhard John (E.J.) Prill of Blue Earth, Minnesota, and Sylvia Virginia Prill (Tate) of Buckner, Illinois. He grew up in Dayton, OH until the age of 13 when his family moved to the St. Louis, MO area in 1961. His father was a long-time Chemical Engineer at Monsanto Corporation in St. Louis, and his mother was a School Teacher before dying unexpectedly in 1969 due to complications from surgery. </p><p><br></p><p>His favorite childhood memories include yearly family vacations with his parents and sister Penny touring America in their family car, one in particular in the late 1950s driving around the country in a 1956 Oldsmobile without air conditioning where they started in Dayton, OH and visited every National Park west of the Mississippi.</p><p><br></p><p>He graduated from Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, MO in 1965 and attended Kansas University for 4 years before enlisting in the United States Coast Guard in January 1970. He achieved rank of Warrant Officer by 1982 and served honorably for 27 years 6 months and 4 days until his retirement in June 1997 as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CWO4) while stationed at USCG Group Southwest Harbor, Maine.</p><p><br></p><p>After his Coast Guard career, aside from a few odd jobs, he spent the next 23 years in retirement traveling the country to NASCAR races in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, as well as enjoying the accompaniment of friends who came to know him best in the Greater Bangor area as “Captain John” where he was a familiar face at local pubs and eateries, most recently Seasons Bar and Grill in Bangor. Always sarcastic and quick with jokes and advice, whether you wanted to hear it or not, he would keep the conversation going if you were lucky enough to share a drink with or near him. During this time, John was also proud to watch his two sons Jason and Aaron grow into adults and start families of their own, and ultimately make him a proud grandfather of five.</p><p><br></p><p>John is survived by his sons, Jason Prill (wife Danielle) of Sanford, NC and Aaron Prill (wife Sarah) of Bangor, ME; grandsons Jason Jr. of Hope Mills, NC, as well as Max, Sebastian, Dietrich, and granddaughter Anja Prill of Bangor; sister Penny Prill of St. Louis, MO; former spouse and mother of his sons Helen Faust of Shallotte, NC; as well as all of his friends and staff at Seasons in Bangor.</p><p><br></p><p>A date, time, and location for a celebration of life service will be announced at a later time.</p>
November 27, 1947 - December 20, 202011/27/194712/20/2020
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prilldev@gmail.com
December 23, 2020