Sally Drake

The world lost a lover, a fighter, a teacher, and a leader when Sally Jane Nichols Drake passed away on April 17, 2023.

Sally Jane was born in Lynn, Mass to Elliot Nichols and Helen Elizabeth (Betty) (Downs) Nichols on July 26, 1945 and grew up surrounded by a large, loving extended family. Sally, a self-professed hippie, reflected that love and care in every part of her long life. Sally loved reflexively and building loving and creative communities wherever she went was always a central part of her life.

She met her first husband, Paul Royce, in 1964 while attending college. They helped found a commune in Nederland, CO and had two boys: Tony Royce and Jai (Woody) Royce. She later moved to Prince George, BC with a group of hippies. They built a cabin, and she fell in love with the man that bought the land, John Laurence (Larry) Drake, with whom she had her third son, Eric David Drake. The great tragedy of her life was when her firstborn, Tony, was killed in an accident in Prince George. She never forgot him, and the loss was with her every day of her life. In the early 1970s she, Larry, Jai, and Eric moved to the Granville area to be closer to Larry's family. Larry adopted Jai and they built a homestead together on a piece of land she loved with an old barn and even older house.

Sally had many hobbies and was skilled at embroidery, knitting and macramé and even made most of her own clothes for much of her life. She was a gifted grower of flowers and food, making jams and jellies and baking the best shortbread. Sally also loved animals, especially cats, frogs, and sloths. Always the rebel, she got a tattoo of a sloth at age 75!

Sally was an avid reader of science fiction and romance novels and passed her love of learning onto her family and many friends.

In her 40's Sally took that love of learning and community when she went back to college, earning a degree in education. She was proud to have worked with special needs children and made many lifelong friendships during this time. She was recognized for her work many times by Licking County. She was very proud of her work as an AIDS educator in the 1980's when that work mattered most.

Sally was also proud to have been a grandmother to Aiden as well as spiritual grandmother to Cas and Althea. She loved taking them on trips to the zoo and other adventures. They were a treasure to her till her dying day.

Sally always loved a good party and hosted many wonderful events over the years. She will be celebrated with one last Leofest later this year. In lieu of flowers please send donations in her name to The Cat Welfare Association ( 741 Wetmore Rd, Columbus, OH 43214) who provided her with Edgar, her companion these last 5 years.

Sally leaves behind two sons, Jai Woody Royce Drake (Evelyn Van Til) of Columbus, Ohio and Eric David Drake (Amber Stroh) and grandson Aiden Nicholas Drake of Westerville, Ohio, as well as daughter-in-law Jeannette Drake (Christopher Ball) of Westerville and her brother Richard Nichols (Sandy) of Park Rapids, MN. Also mourning Sally's loss are her spiritually adopted daughter and grandchildren, Peg Wachenschwanz, Althea Davis, and Cas Davis (Trinity Porter) all of Columbus and her former husband Larry Drake (Heidi). Sally was preceded in death by her eldest son, Tony Royce, and her parents, Elliot, Betty, and stepmother Marge.

Her friends and colleagues are too numerous to mention, but she was loved by just about everyone she met. If you think that's you, it is.