Obituary of Prathan L. Jenkins

OBITUARY FOR PRATHAN L. JENKINS Prathan Lannier Jenkins went home to be with the Lord on August 19, 2023, at Samaritan Hospice Center in Mount Holly, NJ. He was 67 years old. Born in Glennville, GA, to Geneva Jenkins and Kermit Milton, Jr., Prathan was raised by his mother and spent most of his childhood in his hometown of Trenton, NJ. Affectionately known as “Lannie” to his family, he was the second of six children born to his mother and the eldest son. Prathan attended Trenton public schools, including Jefferson Elementary School, the former Trenton Junior High School No. 1 (a.k.a. “Junior One”), and Trenton Central High School. He also attended some college courses at the former Burlington County Community College in Pemberton, NJ, and had obtained a license from the Federal Communications Commission to be a radio disc jockey. For 23 years, Prathan was employed as a corrections officer at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Yardville, NJ, where he retired in 2007. Prathan was a Private First Class in the United States Army and served in an airborne unit stationed in Korea. In his younger years, Prathan’s heart was sold out for music, and he loved playing the saxophone. Prathan’s passion for music led him to create Back-to-Back Disco Productions with a group of friends: James A. Carey, Lonnie Marshall, James Edwards, the Rev. Keith “Fatback” Thomas, and James “Soup” Horne. Known as “Quake the Shake” or simply “Quake” in this season of life, Prathan and his talented friends provided music and entertainment for parties and special events throughout the Trenton area. Wearing Parliament-Funkadelic-style costumes, the crew would pack all of their records, turntables, speakers, microphones, and other equipment into a van and take the party wherever they went. The group decided to call it quits as priorities began to shift toward family and home. In 1977, Prathan settled down with his first wife Sandra Annette (Woods) Jenkins. The two set up homes in Trenton and later in Willingboro, NJ, where they raised three daughters: Gigi, Connie, and Mel. Prathan loved family life, being a dad, and homeownership. As a father, Prathan went all out. It was his mission to raise respectful, hardworking, honest, and educated women who loved each other, family, and others. Prathan’s girls never lacked anything and grew up knowing that their dad would always be there to love and support them. On December 26, 2001, Prathan married Dieann Burke, and the couple moved to Bordentown, NJ. With their union, “P.J.” (as he was called by his lovely bride) saw his family begin to grow. This made him extremely happy because his family was his number one love. Prathan doted on his grandchildren, and they loved their “Pop-Pop” very much. Besides caring for his family, Prathan loved seeing other people do better in life. That’s why whenever he could, he would lend a helping hand to give someone a leg up. To that end, began another entrepreneurial endeavor at this time: One Love Productions, which promoted fun events to raise money for worthwhile causes. In 2007, Prathan and Dieann retired to Bradenton, FL, where he was able to live out a few more of his dreams, including getting a boat and spending hours catching fish. Prathan was a competitive fisherman, too. He would compete with his beloved wife on their many fishing trips, challenging her to see who could catch the bigger fish—and he was not at all happy when she won, which happened quite often. In addition to fishing, Prathan kept up old hobbies like working out and watching his favorite football team the Eagles play. One thing he especially loved about life in sunny Florida was jogging along the beach and on the causeway. After years of searching, Prathan gave his life to Christ in 2018 and joined St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Bradenton. When he and Dieann returned to New Jersey in 2022, they began attending Delaware Valley Baptist Church in Willingboro under watch care. During his last years of life, Prathan would frequently tell his family how much he loved them and that he was grateful to God that he lived a good life. Prathan was a very energetic man with a positive outlook on life. His family and friends knew that Prathan was wise beyond his years and always gave great advice. He had an extraordinary zeal for life and believed that if you worked hard and dreamed big, you could accomplish anything. Some of his best-known sayings include the following: “Keep it moving;” “Pick your battles;” “No pain, no gain;” “You can do it;” and “Be strong, Black woman/man.” Prathan was preceded in death by his younger brother, Terry McIntosh; his older sister, LaWanda M. Blakemore; and both his father and mother. He leaves behind to cherish his memory his wife of nearly 22 years, Dieann Jenkins of Willingboro; three loving daughters, the Rev. Genikwa “Gigi” Williams, Constance “Connie” Woods, and Melannie “Mel” Jenkins, all of Willingboro; two step-daughters, Tyshon Williams (Keith) of Jersey City, NJ, and Roxanne Burke of Trenton; ten grandchildren, Deconna Burke of Tampa, FL; Kevin and Kyree Parker, both of Jersey City; Darius and Daquan Burke, both of Trenton; Alanna D. Gray of Willingboro; Daniel, Jr., Nevaeh, Makiyah and Mariah Rogers, all of Trenton; two brothers and a sister, Ricky Phillips of Philadelphia, PA, Tia Washington of Trenton, and Lee F. Washington (Rolesha) of Grand Prairie, TX; and a host of nieces, nephews, other family members, and friends.