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Harrington (Duke) Drake

Posted 2016-06-30 by Sharla
The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, Arizona
Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Harrington “Duke” Drake passed away at his home in Wickenburg on June 7, 2016. Duke, 96, was the former chairman and chief executive of the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation and led the firm 1978 to 1985. He was named “CEO of the Year” in 1984 by the Financial Times Magazine, and “One of the Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century” by Harvard Business School.

Duke was born in 1919 in Kansas City, Mo., and finished high school in Caldwell New Jersey. After graduating from Colgate University in 1941 he immediately enlisted in the armed services. During World War II Duke served as a pilot, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Air Force Reserve and received the Air Medal and Oak Leaf Cluster while in the 20th Troop Carrier Squadron in the 6th Air Force. While in the South Atlantic Theater he flew two five star Generals: Hap Arnold and George C. Marshall to visit air bases. He flew the Brazilian chief of staff General Gaspar Dutra (later president of Brazil) on a tour of the European Theater of Operations to review Brazilian troops. He also flew the Bob Hope Troupe on an entertainment tour of the 6th Air Force.

Besides his business career Duke was a lifelong supporter of his alma mater Colgate University. He was Chairman Emeritus of Colgate University’s Board of Trustees, having served as chairman of the board from 1978 – 1985. This is a position that was also held by his much beloved stepfather Wellington Powell. For his extraordinary work at Colgate, Duke received the Ernest T. Stewart Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the organization’s highest award, presented by the U.S. Secretary of Education in 1983.

Duke and his then wife Shirley first came to Wickenburg in the late 1950s for family vacations at the Rancho de Los Caballeros and fell in love with the town, its western charm, and its warm and friendly people. While still living in Connecticut in 1973 they built a house here, and when he retired they divided their time between Wickenburg and Carpinteria, Calif. Two years after Shirley’s death in 1993, Duke married Patricia Van Eybergen of Mexico City, and she also deeply shared his love of Wickenburg. So much so that they became full time residents as Duke’s health issues prevented them from moving back and forth between two houses.

Duke had many dear friends in Wickenburg from all walks of life. He greatly enjoyed golf, horseback riding, the three decades of going on the Desert Caballeros rides and a weekly game of poker he hosted at his house. He enjoyed hunting trips and travel. But he loved nothing better than gathering his many friends and numerous relatives from near and far to come to Wickenburg for the parties he threw to celebrate the milestones of his life.

He was an active supporter of the community and its treasured institutions such as the Desert Caballeros Museum, Wickenburg Community Hospital and the Del Webb Center. He served on the Board of the Maricopa County Historical Society. He was a great patriot who expressed his love of this country.

Duke was a man who, wherever he was, would initiate projects and bring in a combination of enthusiasm, imagination, perseverance and dynamic leadership. Those who worked with him benefitted from his willingness to set very high goals and create a strong team spirit. At the same time he adhered to high moral standards, explaining to his co-workers that, “We’re Boy Scouts.”

He counted his wealth in the quantity and quality of his friendships and close family ties. All who got to know him were blessed by his personal warmth, loyalty and very active sense of humor. He greatly enjoyed people and made deep and lasting friendships wherever he lived and worked. He measured his wealth by those relationships. Many of those whose lives he touched would attest to the fact that, due to his interest and encouragement, he changed their lives. While, in his last years he was not blessed with good health, his love of life and for the people around him, including all his dedicated caregivers, overcame all his adversities. He remained to the end a cheerful and delightful companion in life and will be sorely missed.

His beloved wife since 1995, Patricia van Eybergen Drake, survives Duke. His first wife, Shirley Grant, daughter of William T. Grant, whom he married in 1943, predeceased him in 1993. He is also survived by his brother Donald Powell; sons Ted, Jeffrey and Andy; as well as three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His nieces and nephews and the children and grandchildren of his step family, to whom he had grown close, and his long time, close associate and business manager, Paula Brill, also survive him.

A celebration of his life will be held in the fall. In place of flowers donations to the Wickenburg Community Hospital Foundation would be welcome.




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