Born July 7, 1907, in Minneapolis, Mr. Pracna moved with his parents to San Jose when he was 2. He was an only child.
Mr. Pracna's life spanned 94 years, all but two of which he spent in the San Jose area. He graduated from San Jose High School, helped his father run their family-owned shoe store, and eventually made a career of chasing prowlers and drunken drivers, and, at least during Prohibition, capturing bootleggers.
Mr. Pracna may have worked in one of the smallest and safest upscale cities in the county, but it didn't protect him from the bullets that came barreling toward him one day in 1931 just after joining the two-man Willow Glen Police Department.
Then 26 years old, Mr. Pracna was tooling around on his Harley Davidson 45 when he spotted a speeder and chased him on Lincoln Avenue, around Coe Avenue and finally to Chabrant Way, where the absconder ran into his house. Mr. Pracna, who would later become Willow Glen's chief, walked up to the door.
''I'm going to arrest you for speeding,'' Mr. Pracna remembered telling him in a 1983 Mercury News article. ''The hell you are!'' the man replied before slamming the door.
The young officer didn't know what to do, so he started walking away when the man came out of his house firing.
Three of six shots hit Mr. Pracna. One went through his arm, and another went in and out his chest. The third hit his holstered revolver. Mr. Pracna returned to the job four months later, and while polishing his gun, found the slug in his holster.
Relatives still have his nicked ivory-handled .38-caliber revolver.
In 1932 he married Dorothy Crabtree, whom he met while playing for a local orchestra. She played the violin and piano; he played a handmade string bass.
In 1936, when Willow Glen was incorporated into San Jose, Mr. Pracna joined the San Jose Police Department and started over in the ranks, rising to captain. For 20 years, he oversaw the auxiliary police, later renamed the San Jose Police Reserve. He retired when he was 55 and then served 10 years as a bailiff.
Swapping hats between police chief and firefighter in Willow Glen, Edward Pracna was, in the 1930s, one of the youngest top cops in the state. His 40-year career ended in 1973.
One of his biggest accomplishments outside of patrolling San Jose streets and monitoring the courts was the five years it took him to build a summerhouse in Seacliff. The house sits above Seacliff Beach. The hearth on the fireplace inside was built with marble taken from the old downtown San Jose post office when it was torn down.
The ''soft touches'' will be most remembered by his granddaughter, Jennifer. She described her grandfather as funny and quick-witted with a touch of sarcasm. He always sported a collared shirt and slacks. And he wouldn't forget a holiday, even Valentine's Day and Easter.
''He was generous,'' she said, ''but it was the little gifts like the cards or stuffed animals that meant more.''
After retiring, he traveled through England, France, Germany, Australia, Israel and New Zealand. With his senior friends, he went on gambling bus trips to Lake Tahoe.
Up until two years before his death, he remained active, lived by himself in the house he raised his children in and, until he was 92, drove his 1982 Pontiac.
The San Jose Police Department provided an honor guard at his funeral and presented a flag to his family.
Mr. Pracna's life spanned 94 years, all but two of which he spent in the San Jose area. He graduated from San Jose High School, helped his father run their family-owned shoe store, and eventually made a career of chasing prowlers and drunken drivers, and, at least during Prohibition, capturing bootleggers.
Mr. Pracna may have worked in one of the smallest and safest upscale cities in the county, but it didn't protect him from the bullets that came barreling toward him one day in 1931 just after joining the two-man Willow Glen Police Department.
Then 26 years old, Mr. Pracna was tooling around on his Harley Davidson 45 when he spotted a speeder and chased him on Lincoln Avenue, around Coe Avenue and finally to Chabrant Way, where the absconder ran into his house. Mr. Pracna, who would later become Willow Glen's chief, walked up to the door.
''I'm going to arrest you for speeding,'' Mr. Pracna remembered telling him in a 1983 Mercury News article. ''The hell you are!'' the man replied before slamming the door.
The young officer didn't know what to do, so he started walking away when the man came out of his house firing.
Three of six shots hit Mr. Pracna. One went through his arm, and another went in and out his chest. The third hit his holstered revolver. Mr. Pracna returned to the job four months later, and while polishing his gun, found the slug in his holster.
Relatives still have his nicked ivory-handled .38-caliber revolver.
In 1932 he married Dorothy Crabtree, whom he met while playing for a local orchestra. She played the violin and piano; he played a handmade string bass.
In 1936, when Willow Glen was incorporated into San Jose, Mr. Pracna joined the San Jose Police Department and started over in the ranks, rising to captain. For 20 years, he oversaw the auxiliary police, later renamed the San Jose Police Reserve. He retired when he was 55 and then served 10 years as a bailiff.
Swapping hats between police chief and firefighter in Willow Glen, Edward Pracna was, in the 1930s, one of the youngest top cops in the state. His 40-year career ended in 1973.
One of his biggest accomplishments outside of patrolling San Jose streets and monitoring the courts was the five years it took him to build a summerhouse in Seacliff. The house sits above Seacliff Beach. The hearth on the fireplace inside was built with marble taken from the old downtown San Jose post office when it was torn down.
The ''soft touches'' will be most remembered by his granddaughter, Jennifer. She described her grandfather as funny and quick-witted with a touch of sarcasm. He always sported a collared shirt and slacks. And he wouldn't forget a holiday, even Valentine's Day and Easter.
''He was generous,'' she said, ''but it was the little gifts like the cards or stuffed animals that meant more.''
After retiring, he traveled through England, France, Germany, Australia, Israel and New Zealand. With his senior friends, he went on gambling bus trips to Lake Tahoe.
Up until two years before his death, he remained active, lived by himself in the house he raised his children in and, until he was 92, drove his 1982 Pontiac.
The San Jose Police Department provided an honor guard at his funeral and presented a flag to his family.
Born July 7, 1907, in Minneapolis, Mr. Pracna moved with his parents to San Jose when he was 2. He was an only child.
Mr. Pracna's life spanned 94 years, all but two of which he spent in the San Jose area. He graduated from San Jose High School, helped his father run their family-owned shoe store, and eventually made a career of chasing prowlers and drunken drivers, and, at least during Prohibition, capturing bootleggers.
Mr. Pracna may have worked in one of the smallest and safest upscale cities in the county, but it didn't protect him from the bullets that came barreling toward him one day in 1931 just after joining the two-man Willow Glen Police Department.
Then 26 years old, Mr. Pracna was tooling around on his Harley Davidson 45 when he spotted a speeder and chased him on Lincoln Avenue, around Coe Avenue and finally to Chabrant Way, where the absconder ran into his house. Mr. Pracna, who would later become Willow Glen's chief, walked up to the door.
''I'm going to arrest you for speeding,'' Mr. Pracna remembered telling him in a 1983 Mercury News article. ''The hell you are!'' the man replied before slamming the door.
The young officer didn't know what to do, so he started walking away when the man came out of his house firing.
Three of six shots hit Mr. Pracna. One went through his arm, and another went in and out his chest. The third hit his holstered revolver. Mr. Pracna returned to the job four months later, and while polishing his gun, found the slug in his holster.
Relatives still have his nicked ivory-handled .38-caliber revolver.
In 1932 he married Dorothy Crabtree, whom he met while playing for a local orchestra. She played the violin and piano; he played a handmade string bass.
In 1936, when Willow Glen was incorporated into San Jose, Mr. Pracna joined the San Jose Police Department and started over in the ranks, rising to captain. For 20 years, he oversaw the auxiliary police, later renamed the San Jose Police Reserve. He retired when he was 55 and then served 10 years as a bailiff.
Swapping hats between police chief and firefighter in Willow Glen, Edward Pracna was, in the 1930s, one of the youngest top cops in the state. His 40-year career ended in 1973.
One of his biggest accomplishments outside of patrolling San Jose streets and monitoring the courts was the five years it took him to build a summerhouse in Seacliff. The house sits above Seacliff Beach. The hearth on the fireplace inside was built with marble taken from the old downtown San Jose post office when it was torn down.
The ''soft touches'' will be most remembered by his granddaughter, Jennifer. She described her grandfather as funny and quick-witted with a touch of sarcasm. He always sported a collared shirt and slacks. And he wouldn't forget a holiday, even Valentine's Day and Easter.
''He was generous,'' she said, ''but it was the little gifts like the cards or stuffed animals that meant more.''
After retiring, he traveled through England, France, Germany, Australia, Israel and New Zealand. With his senior friends, he went on gambling bus trips to Lake Tahoe.
Up until two years before his death, he remained active, lived by himself in the house he raised his children in and, until he was 92, drove his 1982 Pontiac.
The San Jose Police Department provided an honor guard at his funeral and presented a flag to his family.
Mr. Pracna's life spanned 94 years, all but two of which he spent in the San Jose area. He graduated from San Jose High School, helped his father run their family-owned shoe store, and eventually made a career of chasing prowlers and drunken drivers, and, at least during Prohibition, capturing bootleggers.
Mr. Pracna may have worked in one of the smallest and safest upscale cities in the county, but it didn't protect him from the bullets that came barreling toward him one day in 1931 just after joining the two-man Willow Glen Police Department.
Then 26 years old, Mr. Pracna was tooling around on his Harley Davidson 45 when he spotted a speeder and chased him on Lincoln Avenue, around Coe Avenue and finally to Chabrant Way, where the absconder ran into his house. Mr. Pracna, who would later become Willow Glen's chief, walked up to the door.
''I'm going to arrest you for speeding,'' Mr. Pracna remembered telling him in a 1983 Mercury News article. ''The hell you are!'' the man replied before slamming the door.
The young officer didn't know what to do, so he started walking away when the man came out of his house firing.
Three of six shots hit Mr. Pracna. One went through his arm, and another went in and out his chest. The third hit his holstered revolver. Mr. Pracna returned to the job four months later, and while polishing his gun, found the slug in his holster.
Relatives still have his nicked ivory-handled .38-caliber revolver.
In 1932 he married Dorothy Crabtree, whom he met while playing for a local orchestra. She played the violin and piano; he played a handmade string bass.
In 1936, when Willow Glen was incorporated into San Jose, Mr. Pracna joined the San Jose Police Department and started over in the ranks, rising to captain. For 20 years, he oversaw the auxiliary police, later renamed the San Jose Police Reserve. He retired when he was 55 and then served 10 years as a bailiff.
Swapping hats between police chief and firefighter in Willow Glen, Edward Pracna was, in the 1930s, one of the youngest top cops in the state. His 40-year career ended in 1973.
One of his biggest accomplishments outside of patrolling San Jose streets and monitoring the courts was the five years it took him to build a summerhouse in Seacliff. The house sits above Seacliff Beach. The hearth on the fireplace inside was built with marble taken from the old downtown San Jose post office when it was torn down.
The ''soft touches'' will be most remembered by his granddaughter, Jennifer. She described her grandfather as funny and quick-witted with a touch of sarcasm. He always sported a collared shirt and slacks. And he wouldn't forget a holiday, even Valentine's Day and Easter.
''He was generous,'' she said, ''but it was the little gifts like the cards or stuffed animals that meant more.''
After retiring, he traveled through England, France, Germany, Australia, Israel and New Zealand. With his senior friends, he went on gambling bus trips to Lake Tahoe.
Up until two years before his death, he remained active, lived by himself in the house he raised his children in and, until he was 92, drove his 1982 Pontiac.
The San Jose Police Department provided an honor guard at his funeral and presented a flag to his family.
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