Loretta L. Drasites, 94, of 477 Mockingbird Trail, Little Swan Lake, Avon, Ill. died at 9:24 a.m. Friday, January 31, 2014 at her home.
She was born on December 21, 1919 in Hooper, Neb. to Emil and Fredericke Meller Rink. She married Roy R. Drasites on September 26, 1943 in the Quad Cities, Ill.
Loretta is survived by her husband, Roy of Little Swan Lake; two sons, Michael (and Cindi) Drasites of Little Swan Lake, Avon and Gary (and Julia) Drasites of Dahinda, Ill.; a daughter, Sharon Drasites deValenzuela of Bogota, Colombia; five grandchildren, Jose Maria, Mateo Andres, Arian, Tony and Jaretta; nine great-grandchildren, Elizabeth, Bailey, Ian, Lia, Martina, Luciana, Lorenza, Tristan and, soon to be, baby girl Drasites.
She was preceded in death by three brothers, Edgar, Roland and Herbert Rink; a sister, Cornelia; infant sisters, Bernitha and Elsie; one granddaughter, Maria Dolores; a son-in-law, Ulpiano deValenzuela and a daughter-in-law, Jaylene Drasites.
After high school she moved to Davenport, Iowa and worked at the Lend a Hand Club. During that time she also graduated from secretarial college. During World War II, Loretta served as a secretary at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. She and Roy were the owners of the Edgewood Lodge in Mikana, Wisc. They were also the founders and partners in D&D Automotive which later evolved into Galesburg Import Motors (Volkswagen) and later, Galesburg Toyota.
She was a member of the Concordia Lutheran Church in Burlington, Iowa. She enjoyed membership in Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Galesburg for many years. She was a longtime member of the Galesburg Pilot Club.
Funeral services will be 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at Hinchliff-Pearson-West Galesburg Chapel with Rev. Christopher Roepke officiating. Visitation will be from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the chapel. Burial will be in East Linwood Cemetery, Galesburg. Memorials may be made to the Concordia Lutheran Church, Burlington. Online condolences may be left at www.h-p-w.com.
