William Henry Prahl

William “Bill” Henry Prahl of Cambridge, MD went to be with our Lord and Savior and his wife Joyce on March 31, 2025. He passed away in his home surrounded by the Love of God, his daughters, granddaughter and Smokey his dog. During his short illness at home, he was cared for by family, friends and Coastal Hospice of Salisbury (Mia, Angela, Gary, Janet and Kathy). Bill was born on February 5, 1938, to the late George Prahl and Margaret “Carey” Prahl in Bruceville/Trappe, MD. The Prahl family later moved to Sherwood, MD with Bill attending schools in Talbot County MD. He also worked on the water and at a tire shop. Then he found his calling/career with C. Albert Matthews and his soon to be father-in-law Ray Stewart of Royal Oak. On September 21, 1957, Bill married the love of his life Joyce Ann Stewart of Royal Oak, MD. In their early married years in Royal Oak they raised 3 children, Debbie, Kenny, and Donna Gail. Every Sunday after going to Royal Oak Church services there was a trip to Andrews where Bill’s parents lived. There was family dinner and fun with mom and dad, 6 brothers and a sister, nieces and nephews and spouses. In our family fun time Bill and Joyce enjoyed boating, crabbing, fishing and swimming in the clear waters. That’s why two of his children are still boating to this day. Bill and Joyce had several boats from runabouts, overnight trojan cruisers and center consoles. Many of trips were made to LaTrappe Creek along with his brother Buddy’s boat the 6 Brothers. Then Joyce and Bill settled down for good in Cambridge, MD and had wonderful neighbors even to this day. One lifelong friend since 1967, Marsha Marsh, now Discus and her husband Michael would look after pop’s needs in his final years and days. Bill later went on to work for Hess Mechanical Corp. and had a great boss, Kathy “Hess” Tietel. Bill and the Prahl A team would leave home at 3am to work in DC at hospitals, office complex buildings and chemistry labs as he was the superintendent on the jobs. His brothers, Buddy and Louis, son Kenny and grandson Daniel along with nephew Vincent and Lee Hughes would cross the Bay Bridge twice a day to provide for their family. Bill did this until he retired but remained great friends with his boss Kathy until his passing. He loved what he did. He also had his hand in Cambridge South Dorchester High School. After retirement, Joyce and Bill got out of boating and started camping with her mom Mildred and stepfather Bill. They traveled across many US states and enjoyed every place they went. They were also members of the Happy Hour Camping Group out of Delaware and loved to hang out at Tom’s Cove in Chincoteague, VA. They did this until Joyce passed away in June of 2015. Bill also helped Joyce with events in Cambridge such as the Iron Man passing out water, the Dorchester Showcase where Bill cooked crab cake and oyster sandwiches. The same would happen for the St. Paul’s Church Flower Fair. Bill loved to cook and tell his stories, a good storyteller he was. In his spare time, he helped his daughter Debbie build their home they live in now and he also loved skipjacks, so he built remote control model skipjacks that he and his #1 grandson, Ben raced at St. Michaels Museum and Soloman Island Museum. Bill also loved to build smaller scale style screw pile light houses. Bill could do anything with his hands. If you knew Bill he enjoyed bluegrass music, the old country western music, Geroge Jones, Alan Jackson, and Randy Travis. He also loved his old time black and white movies. Bill was also a member of his brother Richards Church of the Nazarene up until he couldn’t drive anymore. Bill is survived by his children, Debbie Murphy (Eddie) of Cambridge, Kenny Prahl (Donna) of Delaware, and Donna Gail Elzey (Ricky) of Lamar, SC; 4 grandchildren, Ben Murphy (Christie) of Tennessee, Daniel Prahl of Delaware, Jonathan Prahl (Danielle) of Cambridge and Denise Sampson (Monte) of Cambridge; 14 great grandchildren; and 7 great great grandchildren; his sister, Doris Moran of Elkton, MD; brothers, Wilmer Prahl (Cindy) of Foley, Alabama and Richard Prahl (Sharon) of Cambridge; and several nieces and nephews. He was proceeded in death by his parents, George and Margaret; brothers, Carl “Fuzzy” and his wife Sis, John “Buddy”, Louis and his wife Carol; brother-in-law, Charles Moran; and nephew, Ray Gordon. Pallbearers are Kenny Prahl, Eddie Murphy, Jonathan Prahl, Daniel Prahl, Brian Jones and Nicholas Murphy. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday April 8, 2025, beginning at 11am at Fellows, Helfenbein, and Newnam Funeral Home in Easton, MD. Friends may call one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at Oxford Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Costal Hospice, P.O. Box 1733, Salisbury, MD 21802 or https://www.coastalhospice.org/make-a-donation/ or Cambridge Church of the Nazarene, 97 Sandy Hill Rd, Cambridge, MD 21613.

William Henry Prahl

February 5, 1938 - March 31, 2025