More detail on this person: Gary Wade Drinkwater passed away on December 12th, 2014 at home
in Baton Rouge. He was born August 19th, 1944, in Franklin, LA and was the youngest of five sons
born to his parents, Minor Earl Drinkwater and Jessie Shoemaker Drinkwater. He was a graduate of
Plaquemine High School and LSU. He retired from J. Ray McDermott in 2000 after twenty-six years of
service. His father and all four brothers were also employed by and retired from McDermott. Gary was
a Captain in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam as a pilot with the 170th Helicopter Company of the
52nd Aviation Battalion. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star. Gary was
a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Central Lodge #442 F & AM, Scottish Rite, Vietnam Veterans of
America, LSU Alumni Association, Cadets of the Ole War Skule, and the Louisiana Art and Artists'
Guild. He was a former senior warden of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin, LA and reigned as
King Sucrose LXIII in 2003 for the Krewe of Sucrose in Franklin. Following his retirement, Gary
pursued a lifelong interest in painting. He delighted in displaying and presenting his art to
friends and family and enjoyed developing a site featuring the complete body of his artworks with
daughter Allison. Gary is survived by his loving wife of forty-seven years, Karen Bourgoyne
Drinkwater; two daughters, Amanda Kaye Drinkwater and husband Robert Myers of Highland Village,
Texas, and Allison Drinkwater Johnson and husband Samuel Johnson of Salt Lake City, Utah; three
grandchildren, Gabriel, Elias Luca, and Evangeline Johnson. He is also survived by his brother,
Charles "Bud" Drinkwater of Central; sisters-in-law, Inez Drinkwater of Centerville, LA and Sharon
Drinkwater White of Addis, LA; special cousin, John Lee Drinkwater of St. Gabriel; his Bourgoyne
in-laws, Barbara Bovard, Carol Roberts, Cliff Bourgoyne, Roger Bourgoyne, and Yvonne Thomas; and
numerous beloved nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Gary was preceded in death by his
brothers, Jack Drinkwater of Centerville, Arthur Drinkwater of Baton Rouge, and Donald Drinkwater of
Plaquemine. A visitation will be held at Rabenhorst Funeral Home (Downtown location) 825 Government
Street in Baton Rouge, from 5-8:00pm on Monday, December 15th. Funeral services will be held at
Trinity Episcopal Church on Tuesday, December 16th, at 11:00am, with visitation beginning at 9:30am.
Burial will follow at Greenoaks Memorial Park. The family wishes to thank Dr. Patten and Dr.
Stringfellow and the entire staff of Our Lady of the Lake Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center as well as
Dr. Hau,
Mike Williams, RN, and the staff of the Veterans Administration Clinic in Baton Rouge. In lieu of
flowers, please consider donations to The Leukemia Lymphoma SocietyAdvertisement at www.lls.org
Funeral Home: Rabenhorst Funeral Homes Downtown, 825 Government Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802
(225) 383-6831 Funeral Home Details
Published in TheAdvocate.com from Dec. 13 to Dec. 15, 2014
This information was last updated 06/26/2014
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