Obituary of Lee E. Prong

Lee Edward Prong age 69 of Victor, NY passed away peacefully surrounded by his wife and children, on January 19th at FF Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua, NY. He was born to Charles and Helen Prong of East Rochester, NY on December 12, 1952. The youngest of four brothers, Lee was active in a wide range of interests with baseball, trains, guitar and Boy Scouts at the top of the list. Lee went on to earn his Eagle Scout at the age of 15. A graduate of East Rochester, Lee went on to earn degrees at MCC, Roberts Wesleyan College and Colgate Rochester Divinity School. At Roberts, he met the love of his life and future wife, Demaris (Dee). They were married on August 5th, 1978 and remained together and faithfully devoted to each other for the rest of his life. Ordained as an American Baptist Minister in 1980, Lee would serve his Lord and Savior and many churches and communities such as Wickliffe Ohio; Binghamton, NY; and all around the counties surrounding Rochester for over 41 years. Lee’s great loves, other than God and his family, were baseball/softball, trains and hockey. His love of baseball and softball kept him busy between coaching his children’s teams and umpiring for USA Softball at the local, state and national levels for over 35 years. Lee was inducted into the NYS USA Softball Hall of Fame in 2017. He and his son Daniel worked together at two National Tournaments for USA softball and both are members of the National Indicator Fraternity. Lee especially enjoyed umpiring for Special Olympics Softball. Countless players, coaches and umpires across the country have been impacted by his knowledge and love of the game and his love for them as individuals. Both of his children carried on his love of coaching by becoming successful High School and Travel coaches in their respective communities. When not on the field, Lee could be found talking the game or playing his beloved Strat-o-matic with his son, daughter in law, grandsons and nephew who all share his passion. His love of trains included working at Despatch Junction for the last few years where he could tinker with his trains and fix them for his grandsons who called him, “Papa Choo Choo.” He loved to share how Gideon spent a day at work with him and how his face showed pure joy when he got to run the display. Lee took great joy in building new layouts and playing trains with all five boys who share his love for the rails. Lee was predeceased by his parents Charles and Helen, and his brothers, Charles and Donald. He is survived by his wife Demaris, his brother Robert (Johanna) Prong, his daughter Rachel (Jonathan) Dorr, their sons, Caleb and Gideon; and his son Daniel (Cassandra) Prong and their sons, Benjamin, Joshua, and Andrew, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. Calling hours for local friends and family will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2022 at the Harloff Funeral Home in East Rochester from 1-5 pm. Due to the possibility of bad weather, out of town friends and family are encouraged to wait until this summer to join the rest of us in a Celebration of Life for Lee. Notifications will be sent out prior. A small, private service and burial will take place at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Lee’s name to NYS Special Olympics Softball or the First Baptist Church of East Rochester.