Reinhold A. Drews

Reinhold “Al” Drews was born on April 11, 1931 to Martha (Adler) and Reinhold Drews.  He passed away on Sunday, March 18th, 2018 at the age of 86 at Stately Living in St. Joseph Michigan.  He was proud to have been a Sand Rabbit originally from Pine Street in Saint Joseph.  He was a graduate of Trinity Lutheran School, the 1949 class of St. Joseph High School and Lake Michigan College. Al loved God, his family and his country.  He was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Stevensville, Michigan, and active for many years in the choir.  He served in the US Navy on the USS Tarawa from 1951 to 1955 during the Korean War as an Aviation Structural Mechanic.  He was a member of the Stevensville American Legion.  Al worked at Whirlpool for 37 years and had six patents as a Sr. Product Designer.   Al and Virginia enjoyed many trips across the US, Canada and Europe. Al took tremendous pride in his family.  He married Virginia (Vieregge) Drews on August 2, 1958 at Trinity Lutheran Church and, together, had five sons.  John (Alyce) Drews of Clarkston, MI,  David (Lisa) Drews of Orchard Lake, MI,  Daniel (Katherine) Drews of Cumming, GA,  Thomas (Kristine) Drews of Stevensville, MI, Timothy (LoriAnn) Drews of St Joseph, MI.  Two brothers:  Gerald (Linda) Drews of Stevensville and Ronald (Carol) Drews of St Joseph.  One sister:  Dorothy (Wayne) Skaggs of Stevensville.  He had 10 grandchildren and 3 step grandchildren:  Dr. Joseph Drews, Dr. Adam Drews, Ryan Drews, Danielle Drews, Jessica Drews, Joshua Drews, Amanda Drews, Kirsten Drews, Courtney Drews, Clayton Drews, Christopher Cox, Patrick Bloss and Kyle Bloss.  He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Martha and Reinhold Drews, of St Joseph. Al stressed the value of education to each of his sons and always said: “You can be whatever you want to be if you put your mind to it.”  In 2003, the Drews Scholar Award was established at the Berrien Community Foundation in honor of Al and his wife, Virginia, to annually recognize a graduate of Lakeshore High School. Visitation will be held at Starks Family Funeral Home in St Joseph on Tuesday, March 20th, 2018 from 5pm to 7pm.  Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday, March 21st, at Christ Lutheran Church, 4333 Cleveland Ave., Stevensville.  Visitation will begin at noon followed by a Celebration of Life Eternal at 1pm with Pastor Martin Measel officiating.  Internment will be at Riverview Cemetery in St Joseph with Military Rights conducted by the Stevensville American Legion Post #568.  Those wishing to sign Al’s Memory Book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Christ Lutheran Church.  The family would like to extend a special thank you for the exceptional care he was given by the staff at Stately Living.  Al will truly be missed.