Phillip Drury

1921 - 2014

Drury, Phillip Gordon 1921-2014; Phillip "Ace" Drury, age 93, of Aurora, Illinois died peacefully on May 22, 2014 at Mercy Center Hospital in Aurora. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa on January 21, 1921 to Katherine Jeffries and Logan Drury. In 1950 he married Anne T. Basick from Winter, WI. Together they had two children, Colleen (Kim) Presbrey and Phillip (Alice Lovejoy) Drury from Aurora, IL. Prior to WWII Phillip enjoyed living in Peoria, Galesburg and Ottawa, IL, where he graduated from Ottawa High School Class of 1937. In 1938, Phillip joined the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged in 1941. After the Pearl Harbor attack he re-enlisted in the U.S. Navy. During WWII his 1st assignment was with VF-74, the first night fighter group on the Aircraft carrier Boxer off southern France. Aircraft included F6F Hellcats, F4U Corsairs and TBF Avengers. Some other ports were Malta, Sicily, Italy and Turkey. His fighter group was then reassigned to the pacific where he saw action supporting the Island hopping campaign until the end of the war. He was also assigned to Torpedo Squadrons 8, 93, and fighter squadron 194. Additional Carriers were the Cassen Bay and Tulagi. Phillip made over 65 aircraft carrier landings in the Asiatic Pacific, European, Africa and Middle East regions. Phillip also served in the Korean conflict and was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1951. He then settled into civilian life in Aurora, IL. He was employed by Illinois Bell Telephone where he worked his way up from installer to district supervisor until his retirement in June of 1982. He received a service award from Bell for working 35 years without missing a single day. He was preceded in death by brothers James, Logan Jeffery, John, and son-in-law, Kim Presbrey. Phillip enjoyed his retirement, fishing in the Winter, Wisconsin area, traveling to Florida, visiting Civil War Battlefield sites, gardening, reading non-fiction, enjoying his family and 2 grandchildren, Kevin and Kenton (Kelly) Presbrey. He also enjoyed attending and watching Notre Dame football. Burial is on November 11, 2014, With U.S. Naval Honors at Lincoln Memorial Park in Aurora. In lieu of flowers, please send condolences to Anne Drury, 209 Anna St. N., Aurora, IL 60542. Ceremony will be private.