Fay Wynell Sinclair Drake's Obituary
DRAKE, FAY WYNELL SINCLAIR Born August 15, 1921 in Kingston, Texas; Passed away May 17, 2014 in Coppell, Texas. Preceded in death by her husband, Raleigh W. Drake; brother, Oran B. Sinclair; sister and best friend, JoAnn Woodard; and parents, Dennis Otto and Arrie Alma Sinclair. She is survived by son, Dennis Drake and wife, Susan Drake; grandchildren, Lisa Drake and Eric Drake; niece, Valerie Meyer, and two nephews, Lonnie Sinclair and Larry Sinclair. Wynell grew up in Greenville, where she graduated from high school in 1939. She met her husband Raleigh Drake while working at Woolworth’s in 1940. They were married in October of 1941. Soon the war began and her husband spent the next 31 1/2 years overseas. After Raleigh’s return home, they moved to Dallas and bought their first home in Oak Cliff. She began work at Employers Insurance and Raleigh began working at Sherwin Williams. In 1954, their first and only child Dennis was born. At that point, Wynell took on her favorite role, that of a mother and homemaker. In 1958, Raleigh suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and spent 5 weeks in a coma. To the doctors’ amazement, he awoke, but the resulting damage to his vision prevented him from driving. Wynell became the family’s sole driver, and she drove until shortly before her 90th birthday, In all that time, she never received a traffic ticket or had an accident where she was at fault. When her son Dennis married Susan in 1977, Wynell and Raleigh gained another child. They spoke with them often and usually managed a visit every week. Sadly, in 1990, after an 18-month battle with cancer, her husband of 48 years passed away. Her life changed dramatically, but she adjusted well to her new life and still seemed to enjoy every day. Nothing made her any happier then being a grandmother. She loved babysitting Lisa and Eric, and they loved going to see their “Mema.” Wynell was frugal with her money, until it came to spending it on the kids and grandkids. Wynell enjoyed all holidays, birthdays, or any other reason to get together and talk and laugh over a meal with family. She loved jigsaw puzzles, watching TV, eating out, talking on the phone to friends, cooking, and of course, being with her family. She was an excellent cook and could make, without a doubt, the world’s best chocolate meringue pie. Everyone who ever met Wynell would describe her as polite, friendly, and kind. She was always happy with what she had and never seemed to envy others. She was optimistic, always believing things would work out okay. In the last couple of years, her health began its long decline. After several falls and fractures, she moved to Sandy Lake Skilled Nursing facility, where she passed away peacefully Saturday morning, with her son at her bedside.
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