Robert Earl Drake

Robert Earl Drake, 59, of The Woodlands, Texas, passed away peacefully on Monday, October 23, 2006 after a courageous battle with multiple myeloma.

Dr. Drake was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, on October 22, 1947 and attended public schools there. He graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and received his Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine.

Dr. Darake served as an assistant professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Physiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. He later served as assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at UTMB in Galveston, Texas, and most recently as Professor and Joseph C. Gabel Chair in Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

Dr. Drake was a loving, generous, and devoted husband and father who will be deeply missed. He was known to his family and friends as Bob.

He is survived by his wife, Wanda Seward Drake, son, John Dennis Drake, and daughter, Emily Elizabeth Drake, all of The Woodlands; mother, Thelma Tucker Drake of Greenwood, Mississippi, brother, Gregory Drake of Lexington, Kentucky, sisters, Katheryn Higginbotham of Meridian, Mississippi, and Mary Droke of Bartlett, Tennessee. He was preceded in death by his father, John Thomas Drake.

A memorial service will be held to celebrate Bob's life at 11 a.m. on today, October 27, at First Baptist Church of the Woodlands, 11801 Grogan's Mill Road, The Woodlands, Texas. One hour prior to the service, the family will receive friends and colleagues at the church.