Mrs. Dorothy Marie Drake

Celebrating The Life Of Dorothy Marie Drake: On September 26, 1930 Dorothy Marie Drake was born to Homer and Sadie Senter in Paducah, Kentucky. She was the third eldest of six children. Dorothy received her education through the Paducah, Kentucky Public Schools system. Later she married Clarence Edward Powell. To this union was born one son, Clarence (who preceded her in death) and four beautiful girls, Frances Yvonne (Willie Joe), Marjia Nell (Garnett), Sharron Renee and Esther Marie (who preceded her in death) (Andrew). She was a very devoted mother and committed to the care and the provisions of her family. Dorothy faithfully attended Burkes Chapel AME Church where she sang in the Adult Choir. She kept her children actively involved in every children's ministry of the church. Every Sunday morning she would make sure that we were dressed and ready for Sunday School. She came later and met us at church for the worship service. At that time, it was not appropriate to express your emotions but Dorothy would be so inspired by the message, tears of joy would roll down her cheeks. As children, we would be so embarrassed because that was something that you did not do in the methodist church. But little did we know that we would be doing the same thing today. Oh, we learned so much from our mother. She knew how to do everything. As head of the household, she was very handy with her hands. She fixed most every household item from rewiring lamps to repairing a broken bed and bike. If she didn't know, she would patch it up good enough to make it work. At an early age, us girls would help her mow the lawn, cut the hedges, put up clothes lines and take care of our designated responsibilities. It was a joy to share in the chores working along side mamma. Even in doing these things we felt the love that our mom had for us. Mamma would join us in our playful activities and even played marbles, hopscotch and hide and seek with us a lot of the time. We all loved each other so much. In Paducah, Dorothy was employed as a housekeeper at the Citizen's Bank for many years. It was here where she met and married Odell Drake. He relocated our family to Detroit, Michigan in 1963 and Dorothy gave birth to our loving brothers, Dwayne Keith and Maurice Odell. Filled with compassion and love for others, Dorothy made friends easily in Detroit. She always showed kindness and looked out for the needs of others. What she liked most was sewing, resale shopping, gardening and planting flowers. Although she enjoyed these hobbies, they were good therapy for her because her children were the only family she had in Detroit, As her children married and the family expanded, she was very excited about her grandchildren. She devoted her life to their care and well being. She and Odell adored the grandchildren dearly and would often keep them at their home to play outside in their huge yard. To this day, Dorothy, affectionately called “Granny” is respected and so loved by all of them. Dorothy became a member of Saunders Memorial AME Church. However, after retiring from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and moving to the west side of Detroit, Dorothy later joined New Testament Church of God In Christ under the leadership of Pastor Nick S. Edwards Sr. where she came to know the Lord as her personal Savior. She enjoyed her new life in Christ. She particularly loved Bible Study that included the New Members Class, Sunday School and Prayer and Bible Band. She loved to fellowship with the mothers at dinner after service. As her health started failing, she could no longer attend as she would have liked. On Friday, March 4, 2016, Dorothy answered the call of the Lord and went home to be with Him. What a wonderful day to know that Dorothy is Safe In His Arms. We miss your companionship mom, but all of us, your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, sisters, nephews, nieces, family and friends; but we are happy to know that you are in a better place.

Mrs. Dorothy Marie Drake

September 26, 1930 - March 4, 2016