Ralph Keehn Drake |
| Posted 2008-07-26 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Thursday, September 7, 2006 Ralph K. Drake, age 81, farm hand, World War II Veteran, truck driver, peacefully entered his eternal rest on Friday, September 1, 2006, after a years-long battle with emphysema, finally succumbing to lung cancer. Born October 31, 1924 in Dayton, Wisconsin, to Sam and Vada Drake, followed by a hard-as-nails childhood as a farmer and handyman during the Depression. At the outset of World War II, he enlisted in the US Navy as an 18-year-old seaman's apprentice, serving on the destroyer USS Joseph B. Smith (DD-378) and taking part in the liberation of the Philippines as well as the evacuation of Allied military personnel from Nagasaki, Japan. He mustered out of the Navy as a Gunner's Mate 2nd Class on December 13, 1945, moving back to Wisconsin and work as an automotive mechanic at a Milwaukee service station. Enduring a failed marriage, the death of both his parents, and numerous job changes, he met Irene Adrianne Lutchenkov several years after her immigration from Yugoslavia. A divorced, single mother, "Addy" came from Ellis Island, N.Y., with 5-year-old son Alex, sister Olga and mother Vera in tow; later, they were joined by her brother Alex who had been missing since the war. Ralph loved them all and welcomed them into his home. Although this marriage also ended in divorce, it filled 14 years with laughter, tears, music, fun, excitement and love. He operated a rig for Gateway Trucking Company for almost 20 years and retired as a proud member of Teamsters Local 200 of Milwaukee. After several years of loneliness and failing health, he was once again introduced to the girl he'd known from his days in a one-room schoolhouse, Thelma Shannon, who became his caregiver, life partner, and most recently, wife. They shared a loving home and partnership in Mesa, Az., where they lived in peace and serenity for over 20 years. He was preceded in death by his second wife Irene, his first wife Margaret, and their son Gary. Besides his wife Thelma, he is survived by his younger brother Riley Drake of Sun City, Ca.; three children from his late wife Irene (Gregory Drake of Stafford,Va.; Steven Drake of Crystal Lake, Ill.; and Tamara Goetzke of Lutz, Fl.), eight grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. A private, Methodist memorial service will be held at 4:00 pm, September 7th at the Heritage Memory Mortuary 131 Grove Ave. in Prescott, Az; burial with full military honors will be held at Quantico National Cemetery, Va. Services entrusted to Heritage Memory Mortuary |
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