Ben Pryor, Farm Press editor, dies
Sep 28, 2009 9:37 AM
Ben L. Pryor, who for nearly 20 years was a member of the Farm Press editorial staff, died Sept. 21 following a long illness.
He had served in a number of positions with the company, initially as a field editor for Delta Farm Press, and the last as managing editor of Southwest Farm Press.
“Ben was of the era that put excellence in writing at the forefront of qualifications as a journalist,” said Hembree Brandon, Farm Press editorial director. “He was a real craftsman, who put a great deal of thought and effort into what he wrote, and that was always reflected in the quality of the articles he produced.”
Pryor, 69, had held editorial/management positions at the Clarksdale (Miss.) Press Register, the Camden (Ark.) News, and the Charleston (Miss) Sun Sentinel before joining Farm Press in 1984.
He was a graduate of Mississippi State University and had served in the Mississippi National Guard. He was a member of the Sumner, Miss., Baptist Church, where he was a Sunday School teacher and deacon.
Survivors include his wife, Linda Williams Pryor, Sumner, Miss.; two daughters, Courtnay Netherland, Benton, La., and Aime Neu and her husband, David, Haughton, La.; two brothers, Joe Billy Pryor, Webb, Miss., and Taylor Pryor, Marks, Miss.; a sister, Maruice Chandler, Helena, Ark.; and a granddaughter, Alice Neu, Haughton, La.
