Downing Martin Pryor's Obituary
Downing Martin “Marty” Pryor, 76, died peacefully in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday, April 24, 2026.
Marty was many things to many people — sailor, captain, business owner, athlete, coach, storyteller, philosopher, writer, wisecracker. He’ll be remembered by his family and those who knew him well as a doting husband and father, a good man with a heart that matched his towering physique.
Born in Memphis on March 20, 1950, to William Downing Pryor and Janet Briggs Tucker Pryor — civic leaders and owners of Pryor Oldsmobile — young Martin enjoyed a happy childhood living on Tuckahoe Lane and walking to Presbyterian Day School. He loved TV Westerns and was fascinated by his uncle, gunslinging actor Ainslie Pryor. After a few years at Memphis University School, Marty attended The Taft School in Connecticut, where he discovered the game of lacrosse. An imposing athlete who would top out at 6-foot-6, Marty went on to earn all-conference honors in lacrosse at the University of Denver, graduating in 1972 with a bachelor’s in English and Creative Writing.
After school, Marty forged his own path and spent the better part of the next decade sailing — first with his cousin Josh on the handmade 40-foot wooden yawl, Ruby, and later on his own boat, Brazen. Marty and Josh cruised and chartered around the Caribbean — Nassau, Haiti, Panama, Costa Rica — returning to the states in between outings for construction and ferrying gigs to fund their travels. Sometimes at sea for weeks at a time, the two would sail day and night, alternating three-hour shifts. Marty fondly remembered contemplating life while sailing under the stars, describing it as a “cosmic experience.” In the early 1980s, Marty captained Brazen and operated a charter company based out of Shelter Island, New York.
By 1983, Marty made the decision to sideline boating operations and prepare to take over Pryor Oldsmobile once and for all, having learned the family business over the years. He’d barely settled back into Memphis life when he met his future wife of 42 years, Debbie. Mutual friends had arranged an “accidental meet-up” as folks gathered for a casual Friday night dinner at Huey’s. Marty arrived sun-kissed and bearded, and the rest is history! Within a year, he and Debbie were married, and Marty was running Pryor Oldsmobile. Marty remained in the car business until the 2010s, owning and operating Pryor AutoLease with Debbie after Oldsmobile stopped production.
Marty helped plant the early seeds of lacrosse in Memphis when he and a few others organized the Memphis Lacrosse Club in the mid-1980s. The grassroots club left a lasting legacy for the sport in the city, and Marty played well into his 40s until tearing his Achilles tendon during a game. The injury was a memorable moment of Marty lore: Teammates say he had the ball and was making a move for the goal when the tendon popped. Marty finished the play and scored, then hobbled to the sideline and collapsed, grasping his severed heel and pushing out the words: “I think there’s supposed to be something there.”
Marty was above all else a husband and father. For more than 20 years, he built a beautiful life with his wife and three children on Grandview Street. He was a natural dad, amazing his kids time and again with his creativity and generosity. He concocted countless games, stories, and songs. He read to his children, played guitar, and sang for them. He took them to the beach and to the mountains and on sailing trips and directed his children’s gazes to the stars. He instilled in his kids that they could go out into the world and do anything, and that it’s important to try. Marty didn’t just leave an impression on his own children. He coached church baseball and basketball teams, leaving an indelible mark on that generation of youngsters. “A good pass is …? Easy to catch!” and other Marty-isms are undoubtedly burned into the memories of his players.
Marty was also a lifelong animal-lover and developed special relationships with multiple dogs throughout his life, most notably Red, who joined him on the sailboat for years, and later Molly, whom he expertly trained. Although he entrusted Molly to friend Carol Katz when life no longer allowed him to care for her, Carol let Marty continue taking his beloved dog on weekly walks — she couldn’t refuse after hearing him out. It was just one example of Marty’s gentle soul and sense of connection to all things living.
In his later years, Marty continued to work and stay active, even after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Marty always faced the ups and downs with dignity and grace, and was surrounded by love when his condition worsened in his final year. Marty was somehow both the bane and highlight of any health care worker’s shift, and he entertained his audience until the end.
Marty is survived by his wife, Debbie, two daughters, Madeline Elizabeth Pryor and Allison Suzanne Pryor, son, William Tucker Pryor, and two sisters, Ainslie Pryor Todd (Hardy), of Memphis, and Elizabeth Pryor MacEachran (Dr. John), of New Hampshire.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 4, at Church of the Holy Communion with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38119 (901) 767-8930.
“Where Memphis comes to remember, since 1924.”
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