John H. LaPrade's Obituary
LaPrade, John H., 82, born August 26, 1932 in Ft. Worth, Texas, passed away on Sunday, March 1, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. He was the son of the late Robert J. LaPrade, Sr. and the late Mary Buford Snoddy LaPrade. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Margaret Ann Allison LaPrade, and two sons, Kenneth LaPrade of El Paso; and Douglas LaPrade of Edinburg. He is also survived by daughter-in-law, Luz del Carmen LaPrade and three grandsons, John LaPrade, Paul LaPrade, and Michael LaPrade, all of El Paso. Additionally, he is survived by his sister, Louise Webster; his sister-in-law, Margaret Clough LaPrade; and numerous nieces and nephews. John graduated from Waxahachie High School and attended Southern Methodist University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1953. He met Margaret Ann Allison in a Spanish class at SMU, and they were married in 1953. He attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned the Ph.D. degree in Romance Languages. He served two years in the Army and was stationed in Japan. He taught Spanish for forty-one years at Southern Methodist University, from 1960-2001. From 1992-1998 he served as National President of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society. In 1998 he was inducted into the Order of Don Quijote during Sigma Delta Pi’s Triennial Convention in Madrid, Spain: “The highest honor conferred by Sigma Delta Pi, the Order of Don Quijote recognizes exceptional and meritorious service in the fields of Hispanic scholarship, the teaching of Spanish, and the promotion of good relations between English-speaking countries and those of Spanish speech.” In 2007 he was one of the first two recipients of the Jorge Luis Borges Award for lifetime achievement from Sigma Delta Pi. The visitation for John will be from 6:00 to 8:00 PM on Thursday, March 5, 2015, at Restland Funeral Home. A memorial service for John will be held at 12:00 noon on Friday, March 6, 2015 in The Abbey Chapel at Restland Funeral Home, with interment following. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75243
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