Kermit Drake, 71

Kermit Drake, 71, was born to Lawrence Laroy and Edith Elby Drake on Aug. 4, 1943, in Lincoln, Maine.

He was born eight hours after his twin brother, Kenneth, and 14 miles from where Ken was born.

Kermit was the fourth of six children. He grew up in Howland, Maine on a dairy farm and continued his education to tenth grade. He quit school to go to work in the woods until he was 19, at which time he went to work in the Howland Tannery.

At 23, Kermit left Maine and travelled 3,100 miles by Greyhound Bus to visit his aunt and uncle, Don and Betty Philbrook, in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. It turned out that he enjoyed the area, and in 1965, he bought his 40-acre farm in Paradise Valley, where he would raise his family and reside until his death.

Kermit first found work at the Moyie River Lumber Company, starting in the random length (r/l) planing mill on the dry chain and moving up to hand car loader.

From there, he moved on to the r/l saw mill, operating a board & cant edger for four years. Then, he went to the log yard as a heavy equipment operator, running a Cat 966/980, Bantam hydraulic crane, Cat hydraulic 235 grapple crane, and whole truck load wheel log stacker. After the log yard, he bid into the stud mill as a chip & saw operator.

From the mill in Moyie Springs, he went to work at Riley Creek in Laclede for another year, and then left to work at Boundary County Road and Bridge as a heavy equipment operator where he ran the rock crusher. In July 1998, Kermit suffered a stroke and took disability retirement. That didn’t stop him from continuing to fish in Idaho, Montana, and Canadian waters with his many friends and family.

On May 25, 1968, Kermit married the love of his life, Lois Irene Berger. They had three children: Troy (Shelly) in 1969, Lawrence “Scooter” (Olivia) in 1970, and Dawn Marie in 1972.

His seven grandchildren are Cassandra (Sam) Easley, Melissa (Chase) Mellon, Jamie (Kristin) Drake, Hailie Drake, Chelsea Rose, Meghan Rose, and Brooke Rose. His seven great-grandchildren are Samuel Easley, Matthew Easley, Nathaniel Mellon, Owen Mellon, Torrie Rose, Savannah Rose, and Ellee Drake.

He is survived by his wife, Lois, three children, seven grandchildren, six of his great-grandchildren, sisters Marie Boobar and Diane (Sheldon) Smith of Maine, and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mom and dad, sister Charlotte, brother Blaine and twin brother Kenneth, and his great-grandson Matthew Donald Easley.

Kermit enjoyed many things in life including hunting, fishing, camping, riding horses, going for drives, and just puttering around.

He loved his horses and his dogs; his dogs never missed a ride on his side-by-side when he went to do chores. But his greatest joy was family, especially spoiling his grandkids and great-grandkids.

At Kermit’s request, there will be no public service, but we will always remember him for the great, hard working, and loving man that he was.