G. Francis Drake, 91, of Lexington, long-time French professor at Washington and Lee University and early architect of its foreign studies program, died on Thursday, December 29, 2005. Dr. Drake, who retired in 1984 following 43 years on the W&L faculty, had lived for the past five years at the Kendal at Lexington retirement community where he had endeared himself to fellow residents by conducting classes in conversational French.
His wife of 60 years, Virginia Garrison Drake, predeceased him in 1999.
"Fran Drake has been a legend and a beloved presence on our campus for more than six decades," said Harlan Beckley, acting president of Washington and Lee. "The value of his teaching and his virtual founding of international studies is inestimable."
Dr. Drake was born on January 15, 1914 in East Cleveland, Ohio. He studied engineering at Case Institute of Technology for two years before pursuing French at Oberlin College, from which he graduated in 1936. Following a year abroad teaching English at a boys' school in Metz, France, he spent three years at Princeton University studying French, Italian and Spanish. He later did graduate work in romance languages at Middlebury College, the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, from which he obtained his Ph.D.
He came to Washington and Lee in 1940 as an instructor in French and was named assistant professor in 1946, associate professor in 1957, and professor in 1959. Dr. Drake became head of the department of romance languages in 1970, a position he held for a decade.
In 1972, shortly after W&L revised its academic calendar to include a six-week spring term, Dr. Drake organized the first group of W&L students to study in France. It was the first of many students groups he and his colleagues led there in subsequent years. His course was designed to give direct exposure to the language, culture and people of France and included having students live with French families in Paris.
The Fran Drake International Studies Endowment, which today funds such an experience annually for a needy student, was created in 2000 by a W&L alumnus, one of his former students, to honor the professor's role in encouraging studies abroad at W&L. Today, nearly half of the University's students engage in foreign study during their undergraduate years.
Dr. Drake was a past president of the Modern Foreign Language Association of Virginia and of the Virginia chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French. He also played an important role in directing summer institutes for high school teachers from throughout the nation at W&L under the National Defense Education Act and the Education Professions Development Act.
Known for his gentle nature and gregarious good humor, Dr. Drake and his wife entertained countless W&L students, faculty, alumni and staff in their home atop Honeysuckle Hill as well as a wide circle of Lexingtonians. In addition to teaching, music was always close to his heart. He played piano and was for nearly a half century, a faithful member of the choir of R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church. Music led him to develop a friendship with the late Howard Mitchell, director of the National Symphony Orchestra, soon after the Washington, D.C.-based symphony began playing annual concerts in Lexington in 1952. These concerts, which continued through the 60s and into the 70s, were held at the VMI Fieldhouse and usually included a matinee performance for local school children. Dr. Drake, in a memorable highlight for his friends, served the symphony as narrator of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" in 1961.
Dr. Drake is survived by his four loving children: Sally D. Sessoms, Thomas F. Drake, Peter G. Drake and Anne D. McClung, all of Lexington; two granddaughters, four grandsons, and seven great grandchildren.
A private burial will be held at the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery. The funeral service will follow on Sunday at 2 p.m. at R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church and will be conducted by Dr. Drake's niece, the Rev. Katherine Herron Jordan of St. John's Episcopal Church, Beltsville, Maryland. The family will then welcome friends at a reception at Kendal at Lexington at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic or to R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church.
The Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory is handling burial arrangements.
His wife of 60 years, Virginia Garrison Drake, predeceased him in 1999.
"Fran Drake has been a legend and a beloved presence on our campus for more than six decades," said Harlan Beckley, acting president of Washington and Lee. "The value of his teaching and his virtual founding of international studies is inestimable."
Dr. Drake was born on January 15, 1914 in East Cleveland, Ohio. He studied engineering at Case Institute of Technology for two years before pursuing French at Oberlin College, from which he graduated in 1936. Following a year abroad teaching English at a boys' school in Metz, France, he spent three years at Princeton University studying French, Italian and Spanish. He later did graduate work in romance languages at Middlebury College, the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, from which he obtained his Ph.D.
He came to Washington and Lee in 1940 as an instructor in French and was named assistant professor in 1946, associate professor in 1957, and professor in 1959. Dr. Drake became head of the department of romance languages in 1970, a position he held for a decade.
In 1972, shortly after W&L revised its academic calendar to include a six-week spring term, Dr. Drake organized the first group of W&L students to study in France. It was the first of many students groups he and his colleagues led there in subsequent years. His course was designed to give direct exposure to the language, culture and people of France and included having students live with French families in Paris.
The Fran Drake International Studies Endowment, which today funds such an experience annually for a needy student, was created in 2000 by a W&L alumnus, one of his former students, to honor the professor's role in encouraging studies abroad at W&L. Today, nearly half of the University's students engage in foreign study during their undergraduate years.
Dr. Drake was a past president of the Modern Foreign Language Association of Virginia and of the Virginia chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French. He also played an important role in directing summer institutes for high school teachers from throughout the nation at W&L under the National Defense Education Act and the Education Professions Development Act.
Known for his gentle nature and gregarious good humor, Dr. Drake and his wife entertained countless W&L students, faculty, alumni and staff in their home atop Honeysuckle Hill as well as a wide circle of Lexingtonians. In addition to teaching, music was always close to his heart. He played piano and was for nearly a half century, a faithful member of the choir of R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church. Music led him to develop a friendship with the late Howard Mitchell, director of the National Symphony Orchestra, soon after the Washington, D.C.-based symphony began playing annual concerts in Lexington in 1952. These concerts, which continued through the 60s and into the 70s, were held at the VMI Fieldhouse and usually included a matinee performance for local school children. Dr. Drake, in a memorable highlight for his friends, served the symphony as narrator of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" in 1961.
Dr. Drake is survived by his four loving children: Sally D. Sessoms, Thomas F. Drake, Peter G. Drake and Anne D. McClung, all of Lexington; two granddaughters, four grandsons, and seven great grandchildren.
A private burial will be held at the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery. The funeral service will follow on Sunday at 2 p.m. at R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church and will be conducted by Dr. Drake's niece, the Rev. Katherine Herron Jordan of St. John's Episcopal Church, Beltsville, Maryland. The family will then welcome friends at a reception at Kendal at Lexington at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic or to R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church.
The Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory is handling burial arrangements.
G. Francis Drake, 91, of Lexington, long-time French professor at Washington and Lee University and early architect of its foreign studies program, died on Thursday, December 29, 2005. Dr. Drake, who retired in 1984 following 43 years on the W&L faculty, had lived for the past five years at the Kendal at Lexington retirement community where he had endeared himself to fellow residents by conducting classes in conversational French.
His wife of 60 years, Virginia Garrison Drake, predeceased him in 1999.
"Fran Drake has been a legend and a beloved presence on our campus for more than six decades," said Harlan Beckley, acting president of Washington and Lee. "The value of his teaching and his virtual founding of international studies is inestimable."
Dr. Drake was born on January 15, 1914 in East Cleveland, Ohio. He studied engineering at Case Institute of Technology for two years before pursuing French at Oberlin College, from which he graduated in 1936. Following a year abroad teaching English at a boys' school in Metz, France, he spent three years at Princeton University studying French, Italian and Spanish. He later did graduate work in romance languages at Middlebury College, the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, from which he obtained his Ph.D.
He came to Washington and Lee in 1940 as an instructor in French and was named assistant professor in 1946, associate professor in 1957, and professor in 1959. Dr. Drake became head of the department of romance languages in 1970, a position he held for a decade.
In 1972, shortly after W&L revised its academic calendar to include a six-week spring term, Dr. Drake organized the first group of W&L students to study in France. It was the first of many students groups he and his colleagues led there in subsequent years. His course was designed to give direct exposure to the language, culture and people of France and included having students live with French families in Paris.
The Fran Drake International Studies Endowment, which today funds such an experience annually for a needy student, was created in 2000 by a W&L alumnus, one of his former students, to honor the professor's role in encouraging studies abroad at W&L. Today, nearly half of the University's students engage in foreign study during their undergraduate years.
Dr. Drake was a past president of the Modern Foreign Language Association of Virginia and of the Virginia chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French. He also played an important role in directing summer institutes for high school teachers from throughout the nation at W&L under the National Defense Education Act and the Education Professions Development Act.
Known for his gentle nature and gregarious good humor, Dr. Drake and his wife entertained countless W&L students, faculty, alumni and staff in their home atop Honeysuckle Hill as well as a wide circle of Lexingtonians. In addition to teaching, music was always close to his heart. He played piano and was for nearly a half century, a faithful member of the choir of R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church. Music led him to develop a friendship with the late Howard Mitchell, director of the National Symphony Orchestra, soon after the Washington, D.C.-based symphony began playing annual concerts in Lexington in 1952. These concerts, which continued through the 60s and into the 70s, were held at the VMI Fieldhouse and usually included a matinee performance for local school children. Dr. Drake, in a memorable highlight for his friends, served the symphony as narrator of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" in 1961.
Dr. Drake is survived by his four loving children: Sally D. Sessoms, Thomas F. Drake, Peter G. Drake and Anne D. McClung, all of Lexington; two granddaughters, four grandsons, and seven great grandchildren.
A private burial will be held at the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery. The funeral service will follow on Sunday at 2 p.m. at R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church and will be conducted by Dr. Drake's niece, the Rev. Katherine Herron Jordan of St. John's Episcopal Church, Beltsville, Maryland. The family will then welcome friends at a reception at Kendal at Lexington at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic or to R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church.
The Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory is handling burial arrangements.
His wife of 60 years, Virginia Garrison Drake, predeceased him in 1999.
"Fran Drake has been a legend and a beloved presence on our campus for more than six decades," said Harlan Beckley, acting president of Washington and Lee. "The value of his teaching and his virtual founding of international studies is inestimable."
Dr. Drake was born on January 15, 1914 in East Cleveland, Ohio. He studied engineering at Case Institute of Technology for two years before pursuing French at Oberlin College, from which he graduated in 1936. Following a year abroad teaching English at a boys' school in Metz, France, he spent three years at Princeton University studying French, Italian and Spanish. He later did graduate work in romance languages at Middlebury College, the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, from which he obtained his Ph.D.
He came to Washington and Lee in 1940 as an instructor in French and was named assistant professor in 1946, associate professor in 1957, and professor in 1959. Dr. Drake became head of the department of romance languages in 1970, a position he held for a decade.
In 1972, shortly after W&L revised its academic calendar to include a six-week spring term, Dr. Drake organized the first group of W&L students to study in France. It was the first of many students groups he and his colleagues led there in subsequent years. His course was designed to give direct exposure to the language, culture and people of France and included having students live with French families in Paris.
The Fran Drake International Studies Endowment, which today funds such an experience annually for a needy student, was created in 2000 by a W&L alumnus, one of his former students, to honor the professor's role in encouraging studies abroad at W&L. Today, nearly half of the University's students engage in foreign study during their undergraduate years.
Dr. Drake was a past president of the Modern Foreign Language Association of Virginia and of the Virginia chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French. He also played an important role in directing summer institutes for high school teachers from throughout the nation at W&L under the National Defense Education Act and the Education Professions Development Act.
Known for his gentle nature and gregarious good humor, Dr. Drake and his wife entertained countless W&L students, faculty, alumni and staff in their home atop Honeysuckle Hill as well as a wide circle of Lexingtonians. In addition to teaching, music was always close to his heart. He played piano and was for nearly a half century, a faithful member of the choir of R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church. Music led him to develop a friendship with the late Howard Mitchell, director of the National Symphony Orchestra, soon after the Washington, D.C.-based symphony began playing annual concerts in Lexington in 1952. These concerts, which continued through the 60s and into the 70s, were held at the VMI Fieldhouse and usually included a matinee performance for local school children. Dr. Drake, in a memorable highlight for his friends, served the symphony as narrator of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" in 1961.
Dr. Drake is survived by his four loving children: Sally D. Sessoms, Thomas F. Drake, Peter G. Drake and Anne D. McClung, all of Lexington; two granddaughters, four grandsons, and seven great grandchildren.
A private burial will be held at the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery. The funeral service will follow on Sunday at 2 p.m. at R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church and will be conducted by Dr. Drake's niece, the Rev. Katherine Herron Jordan of St. John's Episcopal Church, Beltsville, Maryland. The family will then welcome friends at a reception at Kendal at Lexington at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic or to R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church.
The Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory is handling burial arrangements.
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