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Alice Patricia Sullivan "Pat" DRAPER

Alice DRAPER Obituary

DRAPER, Alice Patricia "Pat" Sullivan

Died April 8, 2013, at the age of 84 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. She was born in Detroit on June 20, 1928, the daughter of Hugh A. Sullivan MD (a surgeon at Harper Hospital, Detroit) and Alice Solon Sullivan, a nurse and a colonel in the US Army, of Port Huron, Michigan. Her parents met in 1917 while serving on the Western Front in Dijon, France, as part of the American Expeditionary Forces at Base Hospital 17. She grew up on Longfellow Street in the Boston-Edison neighborhood of Detroit. She was educated at Visitation School and later at the Convent of the Sacred Heart on Lawrence Avenue. There she excelled in languages and literature, earning top honors. She served as president of the Theta Omega Psi sorority during her secondary school years. She earned a bachelor of arts degree (with Curian Honors) in economics from Marymount College, Tarrytown, New York, in 1950. After college she returned to Detroit and worked for several years at General Motors as an economist. She married James Wilson Draper, an attorney, in 1953. They settled initially on Chicago Boulevard in Detroit, then moved to Grosse Pointe Farms in 1955. Mrs. Draper was active in numerous civic and charity organizations, including the Detroit Artists Market (where she spent many years as events chairwomen), Bon Secours Hospital Assistance League (Group 3), Founders Society of the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Alumnae Association of the Sacred Heart Convent, the Auxiliary of the Discalced Carmelites, and Milk Fund Charities. For over 50 years she was a member of the Penny Pinchers Investment Club of Grosse Pointe. She was a committed supporter of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit. Mrs. Draper enjoyed travel, golf, mystery novels, parties, crossword puzzles, family gatherings, cottage life, long conversations, and antiquing. Above all, she enjoyed her immediate family, and was a loving mother, wife, grandmother, sister, aunt, and daughter. She was proud of her many longstanding friendships-some of nearly 80 years' duration. She spent winters in Stuart, Florida, where she kept a home for over thirty years and where she leaves behind many friends. In Stuart she was active in a variety of organizations and enjoyed catching up with old friends from high school and college days during local events for the Convent of the Sacred Heart and for Marymount College. Mrs. Draper was a member of the Country Club of Detroit, Indian River Club (Hutchinson Island, Florida), and the Detroit Boat Club, among others. She is survived by three daughters: Catherine Ann Draper, of Pelham, New York (Michael Clain); Julie Draper Fazekas, of Ann Arbor, Michigan (Frank Fazekas); and Martha Alice Draper, of Jupiter, Florida (Douglas Grossman); one son: James Patrick Draper, of Detroit, Michigan; and four grandchildren (Elizabeth Clain, David Clain, Jesse Clain, and Frank Fazekas III). She leaves behind many nieces and nephews, a sister-in-law, and her husband of 59 years (she was due to celebrate her sixtieth wedding anniversary in May 2013). She was predeceased by two brothers, Brian Sullivan and Hugh Sullivan. Burial was from St. Paul's-on-the-Lake Roman Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, where she was a parishioner for over 50 years. Interment is at Roseland Park Cemetery, Berkley, Michigan.

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To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Palm Beach Post from Apr. 11 to Apr. 12, 2013.

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