Oct. 26, 1943 – Jan. 26, 2026
Dr. Werter Lewis “Tripp” Drake, III, 82, of Murray, passed away Monday, Jan. 26, at the Ray and Kay Eckstein Hospice Care Center in Paducah, Kentucky.
Dr. Drake was born in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 26, 1943, to the late Patricia “Pat” Grace (Mason) Drake Miller and Major Werter Lewis Drake, II, a C-46 “Burma Hump” transport pilot, who died in WWII, both of Murray. Dubbed “Tripp” as a baby by his father’s army buddies as the third (or triple) generation with that name, he was known as Tripp for the rest of his life.
After Tripp’s father passed, Pat married Judge Robert O. “Bob” Miller, and two brothers, “Dr. Dan” and Chris Miller came along. They grew up traipsing the grounds of Mason Manor, affectionately known around Murray as “the big house”, swimming in Mason Lake behind the William Mason Memorial Hospital and the converted koi pond that became the neighborhood swimming pool.
Tripp was a lifelong learner with a wide range of occupations, hobbies and skills. After a brief stint at Columbia Military Academy, he played football at Murray High School where he graduated in 1961, then went on to Murray State University to complete his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1966. He worked as a chemical engineer for Ashland Oil from 1966-73, then in his 30s decided to follow in his grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ footsteps and enrolled in medical school at the University of Kentucky. After completing his residency in obstetrics and gynecology, he returned to Murray to practice for the next 19 years, delivering thousands of babies before retiring from medicine in 2002. He returned to Murray State in his 70s to complete a second bachelor’s degree in biology in 2017.
Tripp developed an early passion for the history and artistry of antique firearms after meeting Turner Kirkland of Dixie Gunworks when he was a youth. He began collecting and studying vintage firearms as a young adult and after leaving medicine, he and his wife, Ann, started Lewis Drake & Associates as purveyors of fine antique firearms in 2002. Over the next two decades, Tripp became known as one of the world’s foremost authorities on rare and antique arms. Avid black powder hunters, Tripp and Ann would take their favorite muzzleloaders and bows to hunt black bear in Canada, wild boar in Turkey and large game in Africa.
Like his love of medicine, Tripp also inherited a passion for flying from Pat, who flew her own plane as a teenager, and his pilot father, Lewis. Tripp started flying in his 20s and held many flight certifications, including his airline transport pilot license, and logged thousands of flight hours over 60 years. He owned and flew a variety of aircraft, including his L-39 Czech fighter jet and a twin turboprop Mitsubishi MU2, but his hands-down favorite to fly was a 1930’s DC-3, the same type of plane his dad flew. In 2010, he took “the best job in the world” with Airborne Support in Louisiana, flying a vintage DC-3 over the Gulf of Mexico to spray dispersant during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He also spent many happy years as a volunteer captain for American Airlines’ Flagship Detroit and often said how lucky he was to get to fly such majestic, vintage planes.
In addition to his parents, Dr. Drake was preceded in death by his grandparents, “Dr. Ora” and “Dr. Will” Mason, both longtime physicians in Murray; stepfather, Judge Robert O. “Bob” Miller, and his second wife, Ruth Ann Drake.
Dr. Drake is survived by his first wife and dear friend, Barbara Drake, of Murray; two daughters, Patricia Ann Drake (Tim Moses), of Nashville, Tennessee, and Melissa Estelle Drake (Todd Thomas), of Murray; stepdaughter, Tracy Bowling Phillips (Johnny), of Murray; stepson, Rob Bowling (Shawna), of Walton, Ky.; two brothers, “Dr. Dan” Miller (Laura), of Murray, and Chris Miller (Jami), of Kirksey; 12 grandchildren, Will Mason, Bella, Lissa, Matthew, Alex, Max, Jeannie, Matt, Mandee, Macy, Mason and Jacob.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the J.H. Churchill Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Murray, with a memorial service officiated by Dave Morrison and Dan Peters immediately following.
Expressions of sympathy can be made to the Robert O. and Patricia Miller Scholarship Fund at Murray State University, Murray State University Foundation, 200 Heritage Hall, Murray, KY 42071.
Online condolences can be made below or at www.jhchurchill.com.
