March 7, 1924 – October 28, 2022
Beason – Merida L. Drake, 98, of Lincoln, formerly of Beason, passed away on Friday, October 28, 2022, at The Christian Village in Lincoln.
Funeral Services for Mrs. Drake will be on Friday, November 4, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at the Lincoln United Methodist Church. Rev. Tami Werschey-Kessinger and Mr. Ryan Edgecombe will officiate. Burial will follow at the Harmony Cemetery in rural Beason.
Visitation will be at the church prior to the funeral services from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Merida Lorene Bivin was born March 7, 1924, in Girard, Illinois, the daughter of Lowell L. and Joyce V. Walden Bivin. She was united in marriage to David L. Drake on Nov. 6, 1943. They were married for over 60 years, until his death on Oct. 2, 2004.
She is survived by four children: Warren (Geraldine) Drake, Harold (Nancy) Drake, Martha (John) Bunzey, and Laura (Marc) Enger; eight grandchildren: Sheryl Drake, Robert (Amber) Drake, Doug Drake, Erin (Rahul) Prakash, Michael (Diane) Enger, David “Sig” (Laura) Enger, Melanie (Kevin) Jones, and Liz (Tom) Pratt; eleven great-grandchildren: Lillian, Tommy, Julia, Opal, Lucia, Otto, Isla, Wally, Marc, Carter, and Elise; and one sister, Myrabel Theobald.
Merida was preceded in death by her husband, and three grandchildren: Belle Drake, Curtis Drake, and Kevin Klee.
Merida was a 1941 graduate of Tri-City High School in Buffalo, IL and then studied for one year at Brown’s Business College. She was a member of the Beason United Methodist Church where she directed the children’s choir for many years, along with United Methodist Women, East Oran Home Bureau and Logan County Home Extension. She and her husband began farming together in the Beason area when he returned from serving in WWII. She also worked for Fuller Seed Company as a secretary.
Memorials may be made to Lincoln Memorial Hospital Foundation, Beason Fire Department or Atlanta Fire Department.
Final arrangements are entrusted with Quiram-Peasley Funeral Home of Atlanta.
