Douglas, Joyce Drake celebrate 73 years of marriage

BELVIDERE – Dr. Douglas and Joyce Drake will celebrate their 73rd anniversary soon.

Douglas and Joyce were married on Saturday, Aug. 8, 1942 in Minneapolis, Minn. and after 73 years of marriage, they are still going strong.

Joyce’s maiden name was Turrittin, but she gladly took Douglas’ name of Drake.

If 73 years of marriage wasn’t a milestone in and of itself, they will both celebrate their birthdays soon.  Douglas will be 97 on Aug. 4 and Joyce will turn 96 on Sept. 27.

They were recently crowned the King and Queen of Heritage Woods and rode in the Heritage Days Parade.

Dr. Douglas A. Drake was a general dentist in Belvidere for 41 years.  He practiced with his son and daughter-in-law, Dale and Elaine Drake, for 19 years.

Joyce has a Master’s Degree in Accounting and did private accounting for many businesses in Belvidere.

Their children are Dr. Douglas and Kathie Drake of Edina, Minn., Dr.’s Dale and Elaine Drake of Belvidere, Ill., Daryl and Dr. June Drake of Glen Ellyn, Ill., and Dan and Dr. Anita Drake of Rochester, NY.

They have 9 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

Their grandchildren are Christa Jenkins, Lindsay Daswani, Adam Drake, Andrew Drake, Julia Jurgensen, Heather Larsen, Helena Kiepura, Diana Valenti, and Daryl Drake.

Their great-grandchildren are Isaac, Jalen, Micah, and Chelsea Jenkins; Ben, Christian, Noah, and Lydia Jurgensen; and Daniel Kiepura.