Charles Edward Drake

Charles Edward Drake was born December 18th,1954 in Baltimore, MD. At age 4 Chuck's family relocated to Sherburne, NY which was very close to where his mother and father grew up in Norwich, NY. Chuck had a wonderful time growing up in Sherburne and made great memories with his two brothers and friends.

Chuck was very mischievous. In his youth he and ha friend would push his friend's fathers 1967 Lincoln Continental out of the garage and start it up down the block, and try to see how far they could jump over a speed hump/dip used for sheep crossing. He was also into Chemistry, his childhood neighborhood grew to learn if there was a loud noise or earth rattling shake it was from Chuck. Decades later the neighborhood was still telling stories about a specific event.

During the summer of 1969 Chuck and a friend decided to hitch hike from NY to San Francisco, CA. They both wrote letters to their parents where they were headed and placed them in the mail. They didn't tell anyone else and were planning to disappear for the summer. 90 Miles away from home, cops in Utica, NY noticed two 15 year old boys hitch hiking and sussed out where they were trying to go. They were swiftly picked up in the cop car and brought back home to Sherburne. As you can expect their parents were not pleased seeing them arriving back home in a cop car. One day later the letters they wrote to their parents arrived in the mail, however they were not able to intercept the letters in time. The letters explained where they were going, why, and that "Everything would be okay/fine" A double whammy.

Chuck graduated from Sherburne Earlville High School in 1973 with a regents diploma. He went on to attend Owego State University  to study Oceanography. That idea was short-lived. He then bounced around colleges and local jobs until 1982 when he graduated from Clarkson University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Just like Chuck's father, an Electrical Engineer that designed communication antennas for NASA Rockets and Satellites. Tough Shoes to fill.

In his last semester of college, Chuck stayed up late to study for the final exam. Upon entering the exam room he remembered the professor saying, " The student with the highest grade for the lab portion didn't have to take the final exam." He asked the professor which student had the best lab score, and it was Chuck. He of course did not take the final exam.

After graduation he interviewed at IBM, his dream job. Chuck brought an integrated circuit he had built in the college lab. He was instantly offered a position to work in the IBM Research Laboratory. He became a very accomplished electrical engineer at IBM receiving 8 patents in DRAM for his work on memory chip design. When chips were completed he was able to place his full name along with other engineers, directly into the design file that would be developed onto the silicon chips. His full name is on the Mars Pathfinder Robot, along with numerous other satellites, computers, and cell phones. He filled the shoes of his father by going further into space.

He once gave a presentation on cutting edge low level power system design in Germany to the CEO's of top semi conductor corporations. The CEO of Philips personally offered him a job to be a director in one of their new divisions. He declined so that he could remain with his family. We truly had someone special.

His hobbies included: cross country skiing, Bicycle riding, hiking, canoeing and sailing. At Mom's house in Sherburne Chuck and his two brothers enjoyed playing countless competitive games of waffle ball in the backyard.

He enjoyed building things as well. A full 25 ft by 50 ft deck, multiple large sheds, a two story tree fort, a fully operational sugar shack, a strip built kayak and an ice sail boat.

He loved music and singing. he would sing daily with his dog during retirement. He wrote multiple songs, they were popular at local parties.

He was very observant and opinionated. He often saw things from a unique point of view, hearing his take on things was informative. you always knew where you stood with Chuck as he would let you know the good and the bad. He was a devoted Father. Chuck and Jake were close Jake's whole life. They had lots of good laughs together. They went swimming at lots of swimming holes, played golf in the back yard. They enjoyed the time they had together.

He is survived by his son Jacob Drake, and his two brothers Dave Drake of Warren, PA and Tim Drake of King George, VA. He was preceeded in death by his mother Carolyn Drake (2013), and his father John Drake (1983). Chuck leaves us with tough shoes to fill. A week before his death, his son was outlining a computer chip architecture design which would hopefully prevent hacking, it received the seal of approval as a good idea. A very rare occurrence in the Drake household. Here's to a full circle event of going further.

A visitation in Chuck's honor will be held at Minor Funeral Home and Cremation Center on Saturday June 13th, 2026 from 11:00AM- 1:00PM.