In 1916 James and his sister, Fani, job was to clean the spittoons. Their father had two wooden barrels of beer. The hobos would want the foam but so would James and Fani.
James and Fani would sneak and watch the undertaker work.
He owned three Model T Ford automobiles.
James was very enthusiastic about being a Shriner and lifetime member of the Hellenic No. 1084 Lodge in Chicago of the Masonic Temple. He was very proud of all the degrees he earned. On April 22nd, 1949 he was issued the 32nd Degree.
In 1926, James became an electric journeyman.
1930
census
During WWII, James worked for Automatic Telephone Company. The lawyer at ATC told him to always use his middle name because of confusion with a gangster named James Prevenas. (This man was a relative of some kind. His father Nick Prevenas attended Peter D Prevenas’ funeral.)
"During the depression, my father lost everything in the vegetable business. He filed for bankruptcy. George Thein and I paid off the $3000 mortgage on Ma’s house." James P Prevenas
James was not enlisted for WWII because he had just had a appendicitis operation the week he went for the physical. He was given an F4 classification. Also, he was the sole supporter for his mother and sister, Fani. "The day he went for his physical, Fani and I both felt so bad because he neaked out before we got up. At that time, if you passed, they took you right in. However, he didn't pass, but we didn't know why." [*KPL]
James went to Alaska for two months during the summer of 1946. He arrived when Violet was in the hospital giving birth to Kathy. He went again in 1948 with Sonny.
In 1948, he bought a three-story building on Elsten Avenue in Chicago,
IL. One flat was on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
James Peter Prevenas never
married. Came close on occasion, especially with Martha Katzos. His mother
made him promise not to marry until after she died so she would have someone
to take care of her.
James left Illinois in 1956 for relief from allergies. Because of his sinuses, all his upper teeth were pulled. He went to Arizona but settled in California.
McDonnell Douglas Corporation honored him with VIP of the Month in June 1967.
He lived in Death Valley for awhile. Lived in Lancaster / Palmdale, California for a long time.
James bought HUD houses and fixed them up for rentals and sales.
He often went to Las Vegas to enjoy the gambling. He loved to play cards, especially poker. Helen and Louis Dahle drove him from Phoenix to Vegas in February 1992 for a vacation.
After 29 years in California, after retiring from McDonnell Douglas, in 1984, James moved to 3024 SE 5th Place, Cape Coral, FL. Later he moved to 16410 San Carlo Blvd., Lot 383P5, Fort Myers, FL.
In October 1991, James went into surgery for bleeding ulcers. The doctors found stomach cancer and removed his stomach. They also discovered cancerous tumors in his liver and removed what they could.
He was concerned about dying alone. In November of 1991, moved to Phoenix, AZ near his sister, Katharine Langner. He bought a manufactured home with land at 16207 N. 33rd Way.
James died in his sleep at Life Care Center in Phoenix, AZ just before dawn on December 16, 1992. He wasn’t alone.
“Butch and I went to visit Uncle Jimmy once on Thanksgiving in 1972 or 73. We showed up unexpected at his place in Palmdale, CA. He had a turkey with all the fixings, pumpkin pie. He didn’t have much furniture, he had a kitchen table, a couple of kitchen chairs, a bed, and a dresser. After we had dinner, Uncle Jimmy took us on a tour around Edward’s Airforce Base area. Then he took us to into the airtraffic control headquarters at Palmdale. It was just like you see in the movies and on TV. The people were huddled over the banks and banks of radar screens talking over the radio to the people in the planes. They would pass the flights off from one screen to the next.” [*ML]
"A few years back we were in Florida with Gia's in-laws. We were in Fort Myers, when out of habit we looked up Prevenas and to our surprise we found a James Prevenas. Well, I called him and told him who I was and that I wanted to meet him. He told me he was very fat and had a long white beard, and he didn't keep himself to clean! Well the next morning he came to our hotel for breakfast. He was not fat,he was neat as a pin. He talked and acted just like my father. He had my husband and Gia's in-laws in stitches. His mannerisms were just like my dads, also looked like my dad, they could have passed for brothers.He first said to me he had no money I couldn't stop laughing with him. After about an hour telling me about himself and the different jobs he had, he finally relaxed, then he said he had about three bank accounts in case the bank failed he didn't want to lose all his money. He was so cute, he kept looking at me and told me he wished he had come to see our family. He remembered my father coming to Chicago. I never saw him again. We did take pictures together" [*MPA]
Uncle James had a very kind heart. He was very thrifty. He loved to buy and sell cars and real estate. He was proud to be a Shriner. His big regret in life was that he never married.
[*KPL Katharine Langner, *ML Marty Langner, *MPA Margaret Prevenas Anezis]
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Our thanks to Marsha Bryant for graciously hosting this LANGNER Family History website on her server.