This man is my Uncle Noah. He was the stereotype of a big, red haired Irishman, loved women, liked to fight a little, drink some, was full of the blarney, and his friends called him Red. We all adored him and all the young nephews and male cousins wanted to be just like him when they grew up. His father left my Grandmother alone to raise seven children;three older, three girls younger than my Uncle Noah. So, times were hard in the Drake house. He joined the Army during World War I, and served with Butchery Company, 316 Quartermaster Corp. He was honorably discharged as a Private on September 20, 1919. Uncle Noah in picture is man not wearing glasses. He never talked about what his duties were while in the Army. Upon his return to Dayton after the war, he worked at a cartage company unloading trains and was promoted to Foreman. This job was not paying Uncle Noah the money he needed to live the life he wanted, so he and a buddy went to Chicage in the mid-1920's to join Al Capone's gang. We are all very happy he never connected with Capone, and that the Irish gangster, Dion O'Banion, was dead. Sometime after returning to Dayton, my Uncle's future took an upward turn as by 1930, he was the proud owner of a Stutzbearcat. He would come by the house and take our oldest brother, Jack, for a day's outing. That usually consisted of a ride in the fancy car, and then a trip to George's Greek Restaurant on Fifth Street in downtown Dayton. Jack would be seated on the bar, overfed sodapop, peanuts, etc. However, Jack was never a stool pigeon. When my Mother asked what did he do all day, Jack's standard reply was - Uncle Red took me for a ride. Uncle Noah worked for C&D Motor Frieght as Foreman until his retirement around 1960. His three marriages ended in divorce;he had one daughter, Bettie Jane who lived for only a few days.. My Uncle Noah gave the appearance of a big gruff, don't mess with me kind of guy. He actually was a marshmallow inside. I cannot begin to tell all the good things he did for us all, quietly and with no fuss wanted. If someone offered him a home cooked meal just like Mother used to make, Uncle Noah would feign horror and tell that "Mother" had been a rotten cook. On Friday, he would order whale. When the waitress said they didn't serve whale - his answer was God knew he had asked for fish. My Uncle would invited you to - "sit on my lap and I'll tell you a big lie". As a kid, we thought that was the funniest thing we had ever heard. Uncle Noah dropped dead from a massive heart attack at my parent's house in Hollywood, Florida. The ambulance got stuck in the sand as it backed out of the driveway. No matter - it was too late. We love you, Uncle Noah. We still talk about you, and laff at what a funny guy you were. We still miss you. His VA headstone mistakenly lists his home state as New Jersey. His home state is Ohio, but VA would not correct the mistake.

May leprechauns strew happiness wherever you walk each day. And Irish angels smile on you all along the way.

Thank you Tom Ward for posting a picture of our Uncle Noah's headstone.