Floyd W. Ake

Floyd W. Drake 1917-2010 MISSOULA, MT- Floyd Wilbur Drake passed away on 11 March 2010 in Missoula, Montana. The only child of Josie Mildred (Cox) Drake and Eugene Heber Drake, he was born on the family farm in Malone, New York, on 28 May 1917. After graduating from high school, he did surveying work in various locations in northern New York. He was fortunate enough to meet early the love of his life, Ornella Maria De Franceschi Giovitto, who expanded his horizons to include the unique marvels and glories of Italy. They married in 1941 and soon afterwards moved to Chicopee, Massachusetts, where he worked at Savage Arms. Their son, Richard, was born the following year. Floyd served in the 88th Infantry Division during the Second World War and returned to Chicopee after his honorable discharge. He took great pride in the house that he built at 91 Goodhue Avenue in the Szot Park area of town. He lived there for fifty-six years. During every one of those years, he had a large and bountiful garden. It pleased him to share produce with friends and neighbors. He regularly donated vegetables to the Soup Kitchen of Chicopee. After leaving Savage Arms in the early 1950s, he worked at Monsanto Chemical Company and remained there until his retirement in 1982. He and his wife, Ornella, enjoyed a satisfying retirement, with a memorable trip to Hawaii the fulfillment of a life-long aspiration for both of them. For several years after Ornella's death in 1999, he continued to live in the family home. Some devoted friends gave him a needed hand with the outside chores, as the years inevitably began to take their toll on him. Congestive heart failure and other infirmities at last, in 2006, compelled him to leave 91 Goodhue Avenue. He spent the last three-and-one-half years of his life in Missoula, Montana, at the home of his son, his daughter-in-law, Laure Pengelly Drake, and his grandson, Rick. Their garden never looked better than it did after his arrival. A funeral mass will be officiated by Father Rick Turner at St. Anne's Church in Fairview, Massachusetts, on Saturday, May 22nd at 11:00 A.M. Rites of Committal will follow in St. Patrick's Cemetery. Visitation will precede the funeral mass from 10-11 a.m. in the church. People wishing to make a donation in Floyd's name are requested to remember the food bank or soup kitchen in their communities or the Edward Bellamy Memorial Association, 91-93 Church Street in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He came to share his son Richard's deep respect for the city's greatest and most original mind.