William C. (Bill) Drewes Jr. died on Jan. 3, 2011 in Palm Coast, FL. He was 84. Bill was born and raised in Brooklyn, the son of retail merchants whose family owned and operated the Drewes Brothers’ bakery, delicatessen and liquor store in Bay Ridge. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and was a member of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Bay Ridge where he met his future wife, June Hoy.
During WWII, Bill served on active duty in the Navy on an LST transport ship. After the war he enrolled at Pratt Institute to study engineering. Upon graduation he accepted a position at the Sperry Gyroscope Corporation (later known as Unisys), where he worked throughout his nearly 40-year career as an engineer designing advanced navigation and guidance systems.
It was in 1948 that Bill and June were married at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Brooklyn; several years later they moved to Farmingdale, where they raised three children: Chris, Kathy and Doug.
Bill balanced his engineering career with an active role in Farmingdale’s civic affairs. He and June joined St. Luke’s Lutheran Church where they were members of the Mr. and Mrs. Club and Bill was a mainstay of the choir and member of the Church Council. He was a troop leader of Boy Scout Troop 601 based at St. Luke’s, organizing camping trips and excursions as well as community service projects. Bill was also active in the local Masonic Lodge, the Lions’ Club and other service organizations. He helped guide the growth and development of the community as a member of Farmingdale’s Village Planning Board.
Upon his retirement in 1986 Bill and June moved to Shelter Island on Long Island’s East End, where Bill took up boating and cultivated his longtime love for golf. They became “snowbirds”, dividing their time between Shelter Island in the summer and Florida in winter, until 1995 when they moved to Palm Coast, FL, full-time.
In 2005 Bill and June joined with a group of local residents to became founding members of Christ Lutheran Church in Palm Coast. Since that time Bill served the congregation in numerous official and unofficial capacities and was instrumental in securing a permanent home for the church and in selecting its pastor. He also delighted parishioners regularly with his mellifluous baritone as one of the self-styled “Four Caballeros,” soloists in the Christ Lutheran choir.
Bill is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, June Hoy Drewes; by their children, William Christian (Chris) Drewes III, Kathryn Drewes Squillante and Douglas Alan Drewes; by their grandchildren, David Drewes, Kristin Drewes Lamparello, Caroline (Cara) Drewes Pessel, Christian Squillante, Kate Squillante Bird, Kelly Prep, Ryan Prep and Erin Drewes; and by their great-grandchildren, Anna Drewes, Jessica Drewes, Patrick Lamparello, Juliet Pessel and Rylan Prep.
A memorial service will be held at Christ Lutheran Church in Palm Coast on Friday, Jan. 21, at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Christ Lutheran Church.
