Gary Drake, 83, of Weston, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully at home on August 14, 2019, after a lengthy illness. Gary was born on January 18, 1936, in Wausau, WI. He was the son of Donald and Adeline (Bonec) Drake from Rothschild, Wisconsin. Gary graduated from DC Everest High School in 1954. He served his country in the United States Navy on the USS Mispillion from 1954 to 1958. He returned to the Wausau area and retired from Wausau Steel. Gary was a charter member of St Mark's Catholic Church in Rothschild, Wisconsin. He was also a member of the Rothschild/Schofield/Weston VFW Post 8895 and the Roy L Drew American Legion Post 492 in Rothschild. Gary loved to tell stories and jokes, recite poems and research his family genealogy. Gary is survived by his wife, Kathleen Drake; three sons, Rick (Norm Andrews) Drake of Milwaukee, Jim Drake of Wausau, and Mike (Katie) Drake of Wausau; three daughters, Gina (Daryl) Perkins of Baraboo, Angi (Jeremiah) Kosmach of Schofield, and Theresa Schultz of Weston; 8 grandchildren, Alex Drake, Chloe Drake, Carter Drake, Amanda (Tim) White, Nikki (Sammy) Payne, Samantha Perkins, Katyln Gronski, and Kyler Seim; and one great-grandchild, Roan Payne. He is further survived by his sister, Phyllis (Drake) Schoenfeldt. Gary was preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law, Phillip Schoenfeldt. Services will be on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, at St Mark's Catholic Church of Rothschild. Visitation is from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, and mass at 11:00. In lieu of flowers, all memorials collected will go towards the Gold Star Mothers' Memorial. The John J. Buettgen Funeral Home is assisting the family. For online condolences, please visit www.HonorOne.com.