Dick was born in Salt Lake City, the 12th of 15 children with bluish green eyes and dark brown hair.

He was raised on the east side of Salt Lake, 33rd South and 11th East. He attended Roosevelt Elementary, Granite Middle and High School. Subsequently he attended Henager Business College for 1 year.

In his early career he became a radio broadcaster in Cedar City, Utah. In 1942 he enlisted into military service (U.S. Army) at Camp Hood, Killeen, Texas. His addresses in Utah are given as 3553 So. 13th East, and temporary address of 551 No. 2nd E., Provo, Utah. Military records have his height at 5 feet 5 inches, weighing 117 lbs.

Dick became acquainted with his future wife while attending Granite High School. On 7 Jun 1943 he married miss Bessie Marie Knight in the LDS Salt Lake Temple. They went on to have 4 children:

David Charles, b. 1945
Linda Christine, b. 1950
Richard William, b. 1952
Lisa Ann, b. 1958

While working at Tooele Ordnance Depot in Salt Lake, he became aware of an opening in the Ordnance Guided Missile Center (OGMC) at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama in 1955. He filled that position in Alabama and a few months later moved his wife and children to Guntersville, Alabama, 42 miles south of the Arsenal where they lived.

The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was formed 1 Feb 1956 at which time Dick began working for them.

On 29 Jul 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). About this time Dick moved into a new position with NASA as their Educational Liaison Officer. In the role he provided educational materials, set up conferences, arranged engagements for the astronauts and promoted NASA's objectives regarding the space program, which took him through all the phases of the moon flights, including the landing on the moon in July 1969.

Because of an inherited eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP) he retired early at the age of 57 in 1977. He lived the remainder of his life in Guntersville.

Dick passed away Saturday 15 Nov 2014 in his sleep at his home in Guntersville. He was 94. All of his 14 siblings had previously passed away except for his younger brother Glen Arthur who, at the time of this bio, was still living in Salt Lake at the age of 91.

His funeral was held Friday 21 Nov 2014.

Obituary, Huntsville Times:

Richard Billeter Pratt, Obituary.
Jan 6, 1920-Nov 15, 2014 Mr. Richard Billeter Pratt, age 94, passed away at his residence in Guntersville, AL on Saturday, November 15, 2014. He is survived by his wife - Bessie [Knight] Pratt; sons - David Pratt (Gina) and Richard William Pratt; daughters - Linda [Christine] Ware (Richard) and Lisa Ann Argyle (Stephen), brother - Glen Pratt; services will be Friday, November 21, 2014, 11:00 a.m., at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Guntersville, AL with Bro. Edmund Hand officiating. Burial will follow in Marshall Memory Gardens in Albertville, AL. The family will receive friends at the Church on Thursday, November 20, 2014, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Friday, November 21, 2014, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. with the service following at 11:00 a.m. A graveside service will immediately follow at Marshall Memory Gardens.

Bio written by Rich Ware with the assistance of his wife, Linda Pratt Ware.