Friends, Family Celebrate UNC Freshman's Life

Services were held Sunday and Monday for Pratt, who died in a car accident early Friday morning.

Pratt, who police reports stated was probably exceeding the speed limit and not wearing a seat belt, was driving on Interstate 85 near Hillsborough when she hit a guardrail and her car overturned.

Sophomore Britney Brumley, her roommate and longtime friend, said Angie, as her friends called her, was returning to campus after visiting a friend in Raleigh.

More than 1,200 people waited in line Sunday for more than an hour to greet the family, forcing the funeral procession to start late, Brumley said. Graveside services were held Monday in Lincolnton.

Beth Queen, Pratt's teacher and basketball coach at Bandys High School, said the long line was only a small representation of how well-liked Pratt was and how much she will be missed.

"It was the most people I've ever seen at a reception," Queen said. "I could not even estimate the number of people."

Angela Pratt's sister, Jessica Pratt, a senior journalism major, said the two were very close, and she had stayed an extra semester at UNC to spend time with her sister.

"I just loved her so much. I don't know what I am going to do without her," she said. "She was the most unselfish person I have ever met."

Jessica Pratt said her sister would often spend the night at her apartment, and the two saw each other every day, sometimes skipping classes to spend time together.

"She just had so much to give," Jessica Pratt said. "She touched a lot of people's lives."

Brumley, the sister of Pratt's best friend from high school, said the two were ironically assigned to room together in Cobb Residence Hall after first deciding to go potluck for their roommates.

"She had a passion for life and that glowed from her," Brumley said.

Brumley said Pratt, a declared business major, played on the basketball, volleyball and softball teams in high school while writing for the high school newspaper.

But Pratt wanted to focus on academics at UNC before committing herself to other activities, Brumley said.

Brumley said she would most miss Pratt's unusual consideration for others, recalling that she would insist on sleeping with the light on so that Brumley could finish her homework late at night and get ready for her 8 a.m. class.

Sophomore Jesse Blanton, who also went to high school with Pratt, said she loved having fun but always offered her support to her friends.

"It didn't matter how she was feeling," he said. "If you were feeling bad, she helped you.

"Saying goodbye to Angie is the hardest thing I've ever done. . When she was around, you knew you were lucky to know her," he said. "In my heart, I know that Earth's loss is truly heaven's gain, but I wish heaven could have waited."

Queen said she vividly remembered that Pratt perpetually smiled, even during intense moments on the basketball court.

"The thing I remember most is that she always had a smile on her face," Queen said. "She had one of the best personalities I've ever known."

Pratt is survived by her parents, Sandra and Jim Pratt, her sister, Jessica, and her brother, Jarrod. Memorials may be made to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, care of Bandys High School, 5040 East Bandys Cross Road, Catawba, NC 28609.

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.