Chuck Drackett

INDIAN HILL - Chuck Drackett, who worked at the cleaning-products giant that bears his family's name before finding his life's work running a farm in central Indiana, died Saturday of natural causes at his winter home in Naples, Fla. He was 98.

The Indian Hill resident loved the outdoors, whether it was riding horses or sailing or working on the 2,000-acre farm in Lewisville, Ind., said his daughter, Anne Thomas of Downtown.

"Everything he loved to do was outside," Thomas said. "He encouraged that in us too."

His son Kim Drackett manages the farm now, producing corn, soybeans and pigs, and says it was "one of my father's first loves."

Work on the farm started shortly after World War II, where Mr. Drackett served as a hospital administrator in the South Pacific after enlisting in the Army.

Before that, he had worked as an accountant at the family business, Drackett Products Co., best known as the maker of Drano and Windex.

When he returned from the war, he joined other workers in taking a psychological test to use any newly acquired skills.

Mr. Drackett's test results came back: "He seems most suited for outdoor work."

"His father called him into the office and said, 'Son, this is not outdoor work,'" Kim Drackett said.

So Mr. Drackett took out a loan to buy the farm and got his hands dirty right away.

"When he started out, he didn't have enough money to buy a tractor," Kim Drackett said. "But he had a jeep he had gotten from his father and he used that for a good number of years."

Born in Montreal, Canada, where his father was working at the time, Mr. Drackett moved back to Cincinnati as a child. He graduated from Withrow High School and Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., before returning home. He also attended an agriculture program at Ohio State University.

Beyond the farm, his other outdoor loves included sailing and horses. He was a master of the Camargo Hunt and a founding member of the Cincinnati Nature Center.

In addition to his two children, survivors include his wife of 65 years, Marjorie Drackett of Indian Hill; and four grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his brothers Roger Drackett and Bolton Drackett.

The family has scheduled private funeral services.

Memorials: Cincinnati Nature Center, 4949 Tealtown Road, Milford, OH, 45150; Indian Hill Church, 6000 Drake Road, Cincinnati, 45243; AVOW Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL 34105; or Conservancy of Southwest Florida, 1450 Merrihue Drive, Naples, FL 34102.

For consideration in Lives Remembered, please send information and contact number to livesremembered@enquirer.com.

Written by Cliff Peale | cpeale@enquirer.com