Grace L. Drake
{{Short description|American politician (1926–2020)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| birth_date = May 25, 1926
| birth_place = New London, Connecticut, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|12|30|1926|5|25}}
| death_place = Solon, Ohio, U.S.
| state_senate = Ohio
| state = Ohio
| district = 22nd
| termstart = May 20, 1984
| termend = December 31, 2000
| preceded = Ben Skall
| succeeded = Ron Amstutz
| party = Republican|
| image = Grace L. Drake - 22nd District - Ohio Senate 116th General Assembly 1993-1994 - DPLA - f6883d0776f30f81b4c0ebe18e9c9587 (page 19) (cropped).jpg
}}
Grace L. Drake (née Driscoll; May 25, 1926 – December 30, 2020)[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=12235&ShowAllEvent=Y OurCampaigns.com.-Grace L. Drake] was an American politician, member of the Ohio Senate, serving the 22nd district from 1984 to 2000. Her district encompassed the eastern/southern portion of Cuyahoga County and all of Medina and Wayne Counties. In 2000 she faced term limits and was succeeded by Ron Amstutz.{{cite web|url=https://www.the-daily-record.com/story/news/2020/12/31/former-ohio-sen-amazing-grace-drake-dies/4100056001/|author=Morgan, Emily|title=Former Ohio Sen. 'Amazing Grace' Drake dies|newspaper=The Daily Record|date=December 31, 2020|access-date=January 2, 2021|archive-date=December 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231192821/https://eu.the-daily-record.com/story/news/2020/12/31/former-ohio-sen-amazing-grace-drake-dies/4100056001/}}
Biography
Grace L. Drake was born, on May 25, 1926, in New London, Connecticut and graduated from Williams Memorial Institute, in New London, in 1944.{{Cite web|url=https://obits.cleveland.com/obituaries/cleveland/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=197413083|title=SENATOR GRACE L. DRAKE Obituary (1926 - 2020) the Plain Dealer}} She later moved to Solon, Ohio and was a photographer and a studio manager.{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/OH/H/13/grace.drake.html|title=Candidate Information from Congressional Quarterly: Grace L. Drake|publisher=CNN|access-date=January 2, 2020}} During her tenure in the Senate she advocated for the Ohio State University-Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, establishing legislation that transferred ownership of the surrounding land to the Institute for use as a working farm. In 2003 her work was recognized when the university renamed the area the Grace L. Drake Agricultural Laboratory.
In 2001 Drake founded the Ohio Center for the Advancement of Women in Public Service at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. The center aims to inspire women to choose public sector careers.{{Cite web|title=Mentoring: History|url=https://urban.csuohio.edu/cpnm/student-mentoring-history|access-date=January 2, 2021|publisher=Cleveland State University}} Drake died on December 30, 2020, in Solon, Ohio.[https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/grace-drake-obituary?pid=197413083 Senator Grace Drake-Solon, Ohio-1926-2020]
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100530203526/http://urban.csuohio.edu/faculty_staff/staff/drake.html Cleveland State University staff page]
- [http://ohioladiesgallery.org/PublicOfficial.aspx?personId=108146 Profile on the Ohio Ladies Gallery website]
{{Ohio Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Grace L.}}
Category:Politicians from New London, Connecticut
Category:People from Solon, Ohio
Category:Cleveland State University people
Category:Republican Party Ohio state senators
Category:Women state legislators in Ohio
Category:20th-century American women politicians
Category:20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly
Category:21st-century American women
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