Rebecca Lou Thomas "Becky" Drake

1953 - 2023

Rebecca "Becky" Lou Thomas Drake

SAN DIEGO, CA - Rebecca "Becky" Lou Thomas Drake died at Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego on December 27, 2023 from pulmonary fibrosis complicated by Sjogren's Syndrome.

She was born March 10, 1953, in Billings, Montana, the daughter of William Wendell Thomas and Norma Mae Gruel (Quigley) Thomas. She graduated from Billings West High School in 1971 and Montana State University in 1974. Rebecca had many different and successful careers, reflecting her immense talents. She was a skilled vocalist who had the lead in several of her high school musicals. In 1971, she won the Miss Montana Miss America beauty contest and rode on the Montana Rose Bowl float on New Year's Day in 1972.

Following her graduation from college, she relocated from Billings to San Diego, where she obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Music from San Diego State University in 1978. She taught music and voice lessons at Mesa College and then opened the Rebecca Drake Vocal Studio and taught private voice lessons in San Diego for another 15 years. In the mid-1990s, she studied extensively under Seth Riggs and Andrew Boettner, learning the art of Speech Level Singing Instruction and eventually getting certified as an instructor in that specialized method of singing.

Taking a break from teaching music and voice, she created and conducted executive training seminars for the banking industry and then expanded those seminars to include vocal and image training. While in San Diego, she sang at nightclubs, weddings, and was a member of the San Diego Opera Chorus.

For a brief period, she even worked for a San Diego home builder staging model homes for sale. After leaving San Diego, Becky returned to live in Billings for several years where she taught music and voice in the Billings School District.

She then left Billings and lived for an extended period in Africa, London, and Costa Rica, eventually moving to New York City in 2012 where she began training young singers for roles on Broadway. After returning to San Diego from New York City in 2015, Rebecca reopened her vocal studio in San Diego, where she specialized in training young singers for musical theater. Rebecca taught her students the value of hard work, practice, and responsibility. She inspired her "kids" to be their absolute best and was a role model for so many. Many of her students went on to successful careers on stage and screen.

Becky's students have appeared in long-running TV shows, on Broadway, and traveling Broadway productions, as well as presently performing locally in stage and cabaret productions. In fact, Rebecca's students include an Emmy award winner, a five-time Oscar nominee, a Grammy nominee, and a Tony nominee. They all were "Becky's kids."

Rebecca was adventurous and an avid traveler, visiting fifty-three different countries, she was proud to say. Becky told us at the end of her life that she led a good life with many adventures. She had no regrets. She will be missed by her family, her friends, and by her vocal students and their families.

She is survived by a brother, Bruce Edward Thomas of Laramie, Wyoming, a sister, Bonnie Kathleen Thomas of Billings, two nephews, David Cullen Thomas and Daniel Edward Thomas, a niece, Heidi Ann Thomas Baldwin, and four grandnieces. Another brother, William Wendell Thomas Jr., preceded her in death.

There will be a Celebration of Love at The Legacy Resort Hoel & Spa, 875 Hotel Circle South, San Diego, CA 92108 on Sunday, February 18, 2024 at 3:00 PM.