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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