PRUETT, Jr., Jefferson William "Bill" Jefferson William Pruett, Jr., a life-long resident of Atlanta died at the age of 86, on November 19, 2016. Bill was born on August 15, 1930 to Jefferson William Pruett, Sr. and Marguerite Smith Pruett and grew up on Los Angeles Avenue, in the Virginia-Highland area of Atlanta. He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Beavers Pruett. He is survived by his life partner, Helen Gay Allen; two sons, Jefferson W. Pruett, III (Julia) of Peachtree Corners and Benjamin H. Pruett (Molly), Vienna, Virginia and three grandchildren, Nancy H. Pruett, Charles D. Pruett and Jeremy E. Pruett, as well as four stepchildren, Melissa C. Beavers, Atlanta, Sarah T. Hancock (Bill), Atlanta, C. Reid Turner, Chicago and Douglas C. Turner, Palm Beach, and four step-grandchildren, Grace A. Hancock, Emma W. Hancock, William A. Roseman and Jocelyn E. Turner. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 17, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., at St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, 4393 Garmon Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30327. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the , 2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 900, Arlington, VA, or www.diabetes.org. Bill was a retired Vice President, Assistant Secretary and Director of Stockholder Relations of the Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, where he worked for 25 years. He was the first person in the company's history to function as public relations representative (spokesperson) to the press, which afforded him world-wide travel and major responsibilities for the company's image. He handled or supervised many "delicate" assignments, such as the first black employee; the targeting of Coke by Cesar Chaves, which included protests and arrests; the feasibility study for the World of Coca-Cola; founding and management of the Coca-Cola International Public Affairs Seminars in many countries; and many product publicity events with Hollywood and Broadway stars; and international dignitaries. Bill attended Boy's High School, Class of 1948 and graduated, with honors from the University of Georgia (Phi Kappa Phi) with a degree in fine arts and journalism. He belonged to Delta Tau Delta fraternity. At one time he was a copy boy for the Atlanta Journal newspaper. He held honorable discharges from both the Navy and the Army, due to an oversight by the high school Navy ROTC program and his later joining the U.S. Army. After the Army's Officer Candidate School, he was assigned to the Headquarters Aggressor Cadre where he maintained a high priority classification for his work producing top secret illustrations. He was also called upon to paint portraits of cavalry officers' horses and was given the challenge/honor of drawing a Remington painting, which was used to signify the Centennial Celebration of Fort Riley (Kansas). After his Army discharge he worked as an engineering artist for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation and became an Associate Editor of business magazines for Conway Publications, Atlanta. In addition to his "illustrious" career, he was an avid watercolor and acrylics artist, creating and selling hundreds of works. Bill served three terms on the Vestry of St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church and headed a major capital campaign for the church. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Atlanta College of Art and participated in many charitable events. In addition to being an accomplished philatelist, he was a member of the Richard III Society.