Sentator Richard F. Drake
September 28, 1927 - January 26, 2008

Senator Richard Drake MUSCATINE, Iowa - Sen. Richard F. Drake, 80, of Muscatine, died Saturday, January 26, 2008, at the Carrington Place Care Center. Funeral Service will be 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 31, 2008, at the Grace Lutheran Church. The Rev. Gary MacManus of Grace Lutheran Church and the Rev. John Meyer will officiate. Casketbearers will be Rep. Dan Peterson, Rep. Barry Brauns, Rep. Bill Trent, Rep. Walter Conlin, Rep. Tom Sands, Rep. Betty Hoffman Bright, Rep. Jeff Kauffman, John Oberhaus and Sen. Jim Hahn. Honorary casketbearers will be Sen. Art Small, George Wilson, Congressman Jim Leach, Sen. Charles Grassley, Sen. David Stanley, Dr. Larry Gatzke, Jerry Boulund and Evelyn Schauland. Burial will be at Greenwood Cemetery, with full military rites provided by the combined units of VFW Post 1565 and American Legion Post 27. Following the interment, a time of food and fellowship will be at Grace Lutheran Church. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, with an 8 p.m. Masonic service, at Geo. M. Wittich-Lewis Home for Funeral and Cremation Services. A memorial has been established at the funeral home. Richard Francis Drake was born Sept. 28, 1927, in Muscatine, the son of Frank and Gladys Young Drake. He married Shirley Jean Henke on June 29, 1950, at Zion Lutheran Church in Muscatine. He graduated from Muscatine High School in 1945 and attended Iowa State University. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1950. He served as lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy during WWII and the Korean Conflict. He also served as a commanding officer on the U.S.S. Crow and chief of navigation on the U.S.S. Oriskany. He took care of the family farm for many years. He served as a state representative for eight years prior to serving 28 years as an Iowa state senator. He was a member of Grace Lutheran Church, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Elks, KAABA Shrine of Davenport, Masons, American Legion, Rotary and Farm Bureau. He enjoyed listening to classical music and was chair of the committees for ethics and transportation in the Iowa State Senate. He received many awards for his lifetime of service to community and country. He will be deeply missed by his wife; two children, Cheryll Hadley of Wilton, Conn., and Rick Drake and his wife, Willa, of Muscatine; six grandchildren, Nathan Hadley, Ryan Hadley, Jeremy Drake and his wife, Nichelle, Jessica Drake-Metzger and her husband, Rob, Shawn Schubick, Kelsie Schubick and Bert Green and his wife, Joanna; nine great-grandchildren, Madeleine Metzger, Carter Metzger, Thomas Metzger, Nicholas Metzger, Halley Manley, Breanna Green, Brian Green, Bert Green, Jr. and Holly Ramirez; and a great-great-grandchild, Keaghun Brockert.

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