Joseph-Drake-Obituary

Joseph P. "Joe" Drake Jr.

Birmingham, Alabama

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Birmingham, Alabama

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DRAKE, JOSEPH "JOE" P., JR., age 79, of Vestavia Hills, passed away Thursday, August 21, 2008. He was a member of Fairfield Highlands Baptist Church and was retired from U. S. Steel after 31 years of service. Joe was the "ultimate gate keeper" with the Birmingham Barons for 55 years. His passion...

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My Prayers go out to the family of Mr. Joe, I worked the elevator at Regions Park, and talked with Mr. Joe alot, he was a big inspiration to me in trying to get thru the death of my husband and giving me advise on helping my daughters, to deal with the death of their daddy. I truly miss him, he was a very wonderful and lovable person. I Love You and Miss You, Mr. Joe

My deepest sympathy goes out to the family of Mr. Drake. He was one of my dearest friends and patients and I enjoyed taking care of him. I will miss him very much.

My condolences. Mr Drake was one of the sweetest men ever. He will be missed by his friends.

My sincerest condolences to the Drake family, especially Beverly, Donna and Joey. Please accept my regrets that I am unable to make it to the funeral home tonight, but my thoughts are with you and my memories of Joe will always be with me. I worked with Joe with the Barons for 8 years and always respected his love of the game. Even after my time there, I always enjoyed stopping in to say hello to Joe.

Players and managers and owners came and went at Rickwood Field, The Met and Regions Park, but Joe was a constant. At Rickwood in the 60s and 70s he knew everyone who came through the gate because there were so few of us. At Hoover he was a refreshing window to so many good memories, and I'm thrilled that I had the chance to visit him for a little while on Wednesday and looked through that window once more before he passed away the next night.