John Kelly Pritchard told his wife Sandra, "no one will remember me six months after I'm gone." Six months after Pritchard succumbed to Leukemia, staff at the Gornto Teletechnet building tell a different story. "He was probably the smartest person here," said supervisor Rachel Hunter. Pritchard worked as a control room operator and media specialist at the Distance Learning Center, a building full of teachers, engineers and audio-visual technicians.

How did a 19-year NASA employee without a college education end up at ODU as one of the most-sought technical advisors? How did he even get a job at NASA as an acoustical engineer without a college degree?

Sandra Pritchard, John's wife of 10 years, said that John Pritchard, with an IQ over 160, walked into NASA without a degree and said "give me a problem you haven't been able to solve." In about a minute Pritchard had solved a complicated mathematical equation and started a 19-year career.

"Larger than life" is how John Pritchard has been described by Sandra Pritchard and others who knew him. A genius and a consumate caring teacher, was how Hunter and other co-workers described him. A man of many talents, Sandra Pritchard said he learned each one to perfection. He could play any instrument and was especially gifted at the clarinet. He once played double bass in the Virginia Symphony. His early bands Justin and Storm were active on the Hampton Roads music scene in the seventies, having opened for the Doobie Bros. He was a sharp audio engineer who produced albums, commercials, TV shows, and most recently the live streaming classes at ODU. He was skilled at photography, video camerawork, hot-air ballooning, skydiving, scuba diving, mountaineering, skiing, wild river rafting, and kayaking. He made his own musical instruments which was typical of how he learned everything, from the ground up.

Of Pritchard's many jobs he had been an audio visual production supervisor at CBN. He was a cameraman at WTKR. He once owned the Naro Theatre (then called the Actor's Theater). He was a technical director at the Cavalier Dinner Playhouse. He used his audio expertise in mammal sonar research for National Geographic in relation with San Diego Zoo, St.Louis Zoo, and others. And most notable was his mysterious career at NASA.

Pritchard worked as an acoustical engineer at NASA for 19 years with 'Most Secret' security status. "He had a higher security clearance than the president," said Sandra Pritchard. "He invented a lot of things for NASA." He was instrumental in the acoustical design on the Black Hawk helicopter. He worked on the acoustical design and designed equipment for both the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. He also developed the technology for Digital Audio Tape.

"They used to call him 'Eagle Ears' at NASA," said Sandra Pritchard. "He could hear infra-sound that most people couldn't"

How did he get those 'Eagle Ears'?

When Pritchard was eight-years-old an accident left him blind in both eyes. After two years his sight returned to one eye, by which time he had developed his keen sense of hearing.

Pritchard was constantly being flown around the country for NASA and even spent time at the controversial area 51. "He didn't talk about it much," said Sandra Pritchard. She speculates that the pressure of being under NASA's watchful eyes may have caused him to pursue work in the civilian world.

"After he left NASA he struggled finding work because he was so overqualified," said Sandra Pritchard. At that time John Pritchard delved more into recording bands in his studio. But after mentoring a rap artist who was murdered while pursuing an education, he lost his heart for recording. "He put alot into every one of his clients and students. You were the most important thing in the world when he worked with you."

Pritchard took a special interest in mentoring and working with those that sought to study and improve on one's talents and abilities. "He would only take on recording artists that he found enjoyable and distinctive," said Kevin Baiko (aka Dr. Sparkles), who recorded two albums at Pritchard's studio. "He was a genius regarding the scientific aspects of audio engineering and was able to translate that into art." The two developed a close friendship over the course of their collaboration. Pritchard also mentored Baiko in the science and art of recording, even letting him operate the studio unaided. Baiko's last album was Pritchard's last work, which he put all his energy into, even as his was being taken away from him.

At ODU Pritchard operated one of the AV control rooms for Teletechnet. As the live video and audio would come in he would produce the program for worldwide broacast. Teletechnet is a huge operation that films specially designed classes for broadcast to other colleges and websites. From 2001 until 2005 he troubleshot problems, installed equipment upgrades, and answered countless technical questions from the staff. "He created tech help sheets," said Hunter. "He did things to make the job flow better."

But Pritchard excelled most as a teacher. He trained others on the AV equipment. "He made sure people understood why it worked," said Hunter. "He changed the landscape of my life. He gave me confidence in engineering." On the outside he also taught her guitar, recorded her music, and showed her how to set up her own studio.

In recent years John Pritchard and his son Jarrett Pritchard had produced a documentary based on the martial art of Sifu in relation with New Dominion Pictures and the Discovery Channel. Sandra Pritchard speculated that John Pritchard would have done more video work as he had recently invested a lot of money into the equipment in addition to the large amount of money he had invested in his music studio. He was developing ideas for other television programs.

In the last year of his life Pritchard resumed his love for writing and performing music. He started a swing band with Rick Reid from Pritchard's first band Storm. Pritchard was learning the ukelele and steel guitar, which he also built.

"He read everything," said Sandra Pritchard. "He was very spiritual. He had so many attributes of God. He was humble, but he could speak the truth to you just like that." John Pritchard had come to terms with his faith shortly before meeting his third wife Sandra, a Methodist lay minister. He became an important part of the lives of her four children and 13 grandchildren.

In 1996 Pritchard escaped death when doctors gave him a couple months to live from pancreatic cancer. "The Lord healed him," said Sandra Pritchard. "But he always had an immune problem after that." In December 2005 fate dealt him a fatal hand. He was diagnosed with Leukemia. In March 2006 he was gone.

Six months later, people around Norfolk are still talking about the genius, curiosity, and generosity of this most ambitious man who soaked up every bit of life and tried his best to share what he had learned.

"He was a treasure. He was sent directly from the hand of God into our lives," said Sandra Pritchard.