Joanna Drake, 73

Wednesday, April 6, 2005

Joanna M. Drake, 73, of Mountain Home, died Monday, April 4, 2005, at Elmore Medical Center in Mountain Home after a long battle with cancer

Graveside services will be held on Friday April 8, at 11 a.m. at Mountain View Cemetery, Mountain Home. Following the graveside service there will be a reception at the Elks Lodge in Mountain Home. Arrangements are under the direction of Rost Funeral Home of Mountain Home.

Joanna was born May 23, 1931, to Clarence Peter and Iva Bell (West) Wirsching in Rogerson, Idaho.

Joanna's family moved to Twin Falls where she graduated from high school in 1949.

Joanna met and on Nov. 8, 1952, married Arden D. Drake. They moved to Gooding where Arden was the pharmacist at Sav-Mor-Drug. In 1954 they moved to Mountain Home and opened Sav-Mor Drug. In 1978 Arden retired and they spent their time at their cabin in Pine and at Mountain Home. Joanna enjoyed fishing, bowling, snowmobiling, sewing, quilting, yard sales, flea markets and RVing with the Nomads RV Club of Nampa, and visiting with her many friends.

She was a member of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, women's bowling association, Mountain Home boat club, Mountain Home riding club and the Mountain Home Elkettes.

She helped form the Pine/Featherville QRU in the late '70s and the Idaho Snow Riders.

She is survived by: her husband of 52 years, Arden; daughters Kayla Parsons and her husband, Glenn, of Mountain Home, and Renee Drake of Boise; sons Kevin Drake and his wife, Amanda, of Prairie, and Perry Drake of Boise; 11 grandchildren and 2 great-grandsons; a brother, Neal Wirsching and his wife, Bev, of Twin Falls; and sister-in-law Sandra Wirsching of Meridian.

She was preceeded in death by her parents, two brothers and one grandson.

Memorials may be made to the Pine/Featherville EMS at 16 E. Trish Dr., Pine, Id. 83647