Lewis “Skip” Drew
Skip was raised in Tonasket, Washington and attended Tonasket public schools. At Tonasket High School, he played football, basketball, track and baseball and graduated in 1954. Basketball was his favorite sport in high school and he received a scholarship to play at Gonzaga. His senior football team went undefeated and was named State B champions. Skip also placed fourth at state in the 440.
After high school, he was a medical corpsman in the U.S. Navy while based in San Diego on the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga. He attended Gonzaga University, Wenatchee Valley College, Eastern Washington State College and Washington State University and earned AA, BA and MA degrees in Mathematics and Education.
Skip spent 31 years working as a public school teacher, coach, counselor, principal and administrator across Washington state. He taught math and physics, and coached football, basketball and other sports at Monroe High School. At Walla Walla High School, he taught calculus, coached football and basketball and was a counselor. He was proud that his calculus students were regularly awarded credit at WSU without needing to take the advanced placement math test. Skip was the principal at Willapa Valley Junior/Senior High School in Menlo and was a vice principal and an administrator in the Central Valley School District in Spokane Valley.
He enjoyed camping, hunting, fishing, boating, snow skiing, bowling, golfing, card games, drinking beer and watching sports throughout his life. He and his parents played pinochle at every family gathering and he relished many a game of cribbage. Skip loved being outside in the sunshine and liked the weather hot and dry. The San Juan Islands were a favorite summertime destination and he spent many weekends boating on Lake Coeur d’Alene. During retirement, golfing provided cherished camaraderie with dear friends where the stories told were often taller than the holes were long.
Skip’s health had been compromised by COPD, as well as a swallowing disorder which inhibited him from taking food by mouth since 2013 and ultimately, dementia. He fell and broke his hip in February 2022 and never fully recovered. He passed away comfortably but somewhat unexpectedly at Patriot’s Glen assisted living in Bellevue, Washington.
He was married twice, first to Diane Grant of Tonasket and then to Judy Abraham of Wenatchee. His later years were spent with his partner Cheryl Miller of Coeur d’Alene.
Skip is survived by his sister, Joelle Hawkins of Tonasket; daughter, Bobbi Terrill (Ernie) of Tonasket; sons, Kevin Drew (Bev) of Snohomish, Kreg Drew of Snohomish and Gunnar Drew (Regan) of Spokane; grandchildren, Nate, Hayden, Kaitlyn, Alyssa, Kristen, Evan and Colby, and five great grandchildren.
He will be missed by all.
Dad: May the fairways always be wide, the greens break toward the hole, the skies blue, the sunshine bright and the beer cold. – Pal.
Memorial donations may be made to the Ole Drew Athletic Scholarship at U.S. Bank in Tonasket.
