She worked for special education

Catherine M. (Brown) Prachar is remembered for her efforts to help start special education programs for her two daughters with disabilities.

Prachar was 89 and lived in Wayzata. Prachar had a difficult but fulfilling life. As a child she helped her widowed mother and brothers run a grocery store during the Great Depression in South Minneapolis, delivering groceries to the infamous gangster, John Dillinger, at one point. She was class president at St. Margaret’s Catholic Academy, was a Minneapolis Aquatennial princess, and enjoyed an adventurous youth. She took a cargo ship to Europe, drove to Acapulco and biked from Minneapolis to Wisconsin on weekend outings.

As a mother of two daughters with developmental disabilities, she became an advocate for the establishment of the first public school for children with developmental disabilities in New Hope. New Hope is part of the Robbinsdale School District.

Prachar was also a writer, painter and pianist, and was also a longtime community volunteer. She is survived by her sons, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Services have been held.