Funeral services for 95-year old Ruth Drake are 11 a.m. Friday, December 29, 2023 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Rapid City, SD.
Interment will follow at 1:00 at the Pine Lawn Cemetery in Rapid City.
Visitation is Thurs, Dec 28, from 5-7:00 pm at Kirk Funeral Home in Rapid City
Friends and family are welcome to sign the online guestbook at legacy.com
Ruth H Drake was born on July 23, 1928 in Santa Rosa, Argentina, where her father was a missionary for the Lutheran Church. She died peacefully in her daughter’s home on Friday, Dec 22, 2023.
Ruth attended grade school and high school in Chadron, NE, then attended Chadron State College where she met Ken C Graves. They were married in May of 1948. To this union, six children were born. Ken died in 1984.
In 2003, at the wonderful age of 75, Ruth married again – uniting with a high school classmate, Eugene Drake of Denver, CO. They enjoyed 17 wonderful years together before Gene’s death in 2020.
Professionally, Ruth started her training and education in Chemical Dependency in 1983. She went on to work in the Family Program for 11 years, 7 of them as the Director of the Family Program at River Park and Parkside.
Throughout her life, Ruth enjoyed attending sporting events and other activities involving first her children, then grandchildren, and lastly, great-grandchildren. She also enjoyed bicycling, gardening, reading, and hiking.
Ruth will be remembered for her tremendous capacity to LOVE her children. We have felt blessed beyond measure to have her as a mom, grandma, and great-grandma.
Ruth is survived by her children Randall R Graves, David P Graves, Gina Ruth (Gregg) Whitfield, Linda R Kushman, and Janet C Yahne; 12 grandchildren; and 9 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her first husband Kenneth C Graves; second husband Eugene Drake; oldest son Kenny Max Graves; son-in-law Thomas J Kushman; daughter-in-law Susan Graves; her parents and all four of her siblings.