Roy Vernon Drake

Roy Vernon Drake was born on April 20, 1944, to the proud parents, Earl Vernon and Florine Taylor Drake. Roy grew up in Kermit, Texas, at the Carter Oil Camp, and spent many summers working in the oil field and at gas plants. After graduating high school, he became the first generation of his immediate family to attend college. During college, along came the Vietnam War and he made the decision to join the Air Force and serve his country. Life in the military brought its share of adventures. He met his wife of 55 years and 2 days, Judy, while working at the 1968 Hemisfair in San Antonio, Texas. They were married on November 9, 1968. Shortly thereafter, in June 1969, he began his tour of Vietnam, including a month in the jungles of Cambodia. He returned home in June of 1970. He always told the story of when he came home and landed at the San Francisco International Airport. It was daunting with protestors and overall anti-war sentiment; however, an airport attendant saw him in his dress blues and made it a point to safely drive the soldier to his gate and thank him for his service. After Vietnam, it was time to finish his education. He was tripled degree with a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at El Paso, a master's degree from Sam Houston State, and a doctorate in psychology from the University of North Texas. Notably, he worked full time while obtaining his advanced degrees, while having a family, his two daughters, Kim and Kelly. He had a robust career as a counselor and then as a licensed psychologist, and literally continued working until a few weeks before his death. He truly loved counseling and helping people. His passion was his work with law enforcement, as he developed deep, multi-decade relationships with numerous law enforcement agencies throughout north Texas. In his free time, he loved going to concerts, spending time with his family, dogs and cat, and cheering on his favorite football teams, the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Tech Red Raiders. Roy passed away on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2023, during his recovery from a broken hip. He is survived by his wife, Judy, his daughters Kim Drake-Loy and Kelly Drake, his son-in-law Jeff Loy, his brother-in-law Gene Palmer, and his "family by marriage" John and Elaine Loy. Roy had numerous friends and impacted countless lives during his career. Roy would want to be remembered as a survivor and fighter, as he was the epitome of the phrase "West Texas Tough." He did amazing and hard things throughout his life. He never walked away from a challenge and truly wanted to help as many people as possible to find their potential in this world. In lieu of flowers, his memory may be honored by thanking a veteran for their service or through donations to ARFhouse, 3377 Spalding Road, Sherman, Texas 75092. His burial will be held at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75211, on Friday, December 15th at 1:15 p.m.

Roy Vernon Drake

April 20, 1944 - November 11, 2023