OMAHA, Neb. -- Cristel Fay Pratt, who co-founded the Pratt School of Individual Instruction in 1920 and guided it for 59 years, died Tuesday.
Mrs. Pratt, 92, had been hospitalized in Omaha with Parkinson's disease and congestive heart failure.
More than 40,000 students attended the small school before it was forced to close in August 1979. Mrs. Pratt, widowed at a young age, founded the school with her mother, Mary Fay Pratt.
In 1971, Mrs. Pratt was awarded an honorary degree by Creighton University who cited her for being 'totally dedicated to evoking maximum personal achievement' from her students.
She frequently described her school as for students 'with high IQ and low I do' -- those who had scholastic ability but had failed in the public schools.
The school's class sizes were small, not exceeding a 12-1 student-teacher ratio, in keeping with Mrs. Pratt's belief that close contact with children was of paramount importance in education.
For many years, a major fund-raiser for the nonprofit, nonsectarian school was the Cadillac Ball that attracted celebrities including Milton Berle and Lawrence Welk to Omaha.
Mrs. Pratt is survived by a daughter, Cristel Kent and a son, Frances, both of Omaha, four grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Mrs. Kent said Mrs. Pratt will be buried in the family plot at Shrewsbury, Mass.
Mrs. Kent said former Pratt students have requested a memorial service in Omaha and she was attempting to schedule one for after Jan. 1.
