John Clifton Pribble II

It is with great sadness that we share the death of John Clifton Pribble II, age 81, on October 4, 2023 due to complications from COPD. He is survived by his homeroom sweetheart, best friend and wife of 60-years, Jane Rees Pribble, son John Pribble III and wife Darci Congrove, daughter Dawn Pribble, brother Jim Pribble and sister-in-law Carol and their family, and a very loving group of extended family and friends who will miss him terribly.

Pribble II was born to John Clifton Pribble and Maymie Lu Weekly December 12, 1941 in Steubenville and was raised in Huntington WV. His family moved to Columbus in 1954. He was a proud graduate of Columbus North High School (Polar Bears!) class of 1959, and attended The Ohio State University where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.

John was a contributor to the early Columbus advertising, design and creative community. He was a sales person for the first and only rock and roll station in Columbus. He co-founded creative services firms that served leading national clients, helped grow many local companies and won hundreds of awards. He and his business partners helped found Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA), lead the Columbus Advertising Federation (AdFed) and many top creatives still working today spent time during their careers with his firms.

He especially enjoyed Ohio State basketball, the Browns, the Crew, auto racing at Mid-Ohio, golfing and spending time with his family and pets. John was a co-founder of Central Ohio Darters in 1975 and was Columbus City Singles Champion in 1976 and Doubles Champion in 1977. He served on the board of the Zoofari gala for many years and was co-chair in 1989.

John was loved by many because he was always there to lend an ear or a hand if someone needed help. He was a longtime friend of Bill W and will be missed at those meetings he attended regularly. He believed deeply in justice and fairness for all. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to B.R.E.A.D. (Building Responsibility Equality and Dignity) at https://breadcolumbus.com/invest.

A celebration of life is planned for Sunday November 12 at 2:00 p.m. It will be held at North Congregational United Church of Christ, 2040 W Henderson Rd., Columbus OH 43220.