Ronald H. Drake

Ronald H. Drake, 70, passed away in St. Petersburg, FL on Jan 24, 2013. Born in Knoxville, TN on Sept. 27, 1942 at Fort Sanders Hospital of the late Leonard Drake and Dorothy Cate. Grandson of the late Elmer and Hettie Drake and the late Ott Branham and Clara Ammons. Was a member of South Knoxville Baptist Church. Moved to St. Petersburg in the summer of 1955 where he attended Disston Junior High School and played Little League baseball for Ed Bauer Plumbing and Pony League baseball for Pasadena Community Church. A 1960 graduate of Boca Ciega High School where he was a member of the football and baseball teams in 1959 and 1960. Played 3 years of baseball for American Legion Post #125 in Gulfport, FL. He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and was a construction engineering manager for B.B. Andersen Construction Co. on Thompson-Boling Basketball Arena at the University of Tennessee and retired project manager from Westinghouse Savannah River Company in Aiken, SC. Member of Azalea Masonic Lodge 898 in Mobile, AL, Knoxville, TN Scottish Rite Bodies, Kerbela Shrine Temple in Knoxville, TN, Charter President and second year president of the West Knoxville Shrine Club, and captain of the Kerbela Temple Provost Guard in 1988. Member of the Aiken, SC Shrine Club, Boca Raton, FL Shrine Club, Portsmouth, Ohio Shrine Club, and a Kentucky Colonel. A lifetime member of the West Knox Shrine Club, past director of the Southeast Shrine Provost Guard, and past Adjutant of Kerbela Shrine Temple. Survivors include his former wife and mother of children, Nancy Breazeale; daughters, Lynn (Curt) Rockcastle of Harvard, IL, Teri Neal of Seymour, TN; especially missed are grandchildren, Nisi and William Rockcastle, Alexis (Spookie) Staley and Brentley Neal; great grandson, Arlo Hall; sisters, Rinda Drake (Michael) Bruce, Karen (John) Stockton; brothers, Dean (Dale) and Jimmy (Nancy) Cate; niece, Tracy Duerst; and great niece and nephew, Tara and Hunter Duerst. Visitation 12:00 to service time at 1:30 P.M. Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 at E. Dale Gunter Funeral Home 4100-16th St. No. with Dr. Dana Bible officiating. Interment: Memorial Park Cemetery in St. Petersburg. $(document).ready(function(){ });