Obituary
Frank Joseph “Buddy” Drew Jr., (December 1947 – May 2023)

Frank Joseph “Buddy” Drew Jr., (December 1947 – May 2023)

Frank Joseph “Buddy” Drew Jr., age 75, passed away on Saturday, May 13. 2023 in Savannah, Georgia after a brief illness. Frank was born on December 19, 1947, to Frank Joseph and Mary Elizabeth (Emerson) Drew in Montclair, New Jersey, the third of six siblings. When he was five, his mother passed away and six years later, Helen Rose Wetzel Sutton Drew became his new mother, and he gained two additional sisters. While he was in grade school, the family moved to Fillmore, California where his outgoing personality and sense of humor made him many friends. He played center in football for Fillmore High School and despite breaking first one and then the other collar bone in different games, he loved playing football. After high school, Frank attended Ventura College until he joined the Navy in 1969 where he served as a radio operator, stationed in Guam.

Frank worked in various management roles in the citrus industry in different parts of the country. While working in Yuma, Arizona, he met and married Josefina Arvizu in December 1974, and was blessed to become the father of her daughter, Elizabeth. They were then blessed with three more children, Dora Helen, Frances Ann, and John Peter.

Frank enjoyed fishing and camping with family and friends. Since his retirement, he also enjoyed watching the large variety of birds and animals who made their homes on his large rural property in Vidalia, Georgia. Trail cameras captured photos of deer, raccoons, foxes, possums, and many different varieties of birds which he shared with family members.
Frank will be missed by family and friends. He is survived by his four children, Elizabeth Mehl (William), Dora Helen Drew, Frances Shows, and John Peter Drew (Ashley); four grandchildren, Brandon Mehl, Justen Mehl (Jackie), Jeffrey Shows, and Ryan Drew; his sisters, Susan Sutton Walden (Robert), Ellen Dewey (William), Linda (Sutton) Levine, and Joan Beem (Robert); his brothers John Drew (Darlene) and Peter Drew (Shari), and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. His sister Marcia Chaney (William) preceded him in death. No services are planned.