Margaret Drake

MARGARET DRAKE

Iowa City

Margaret Drake, formerly of Knoxville, Tenn., Richmond, Va., Lawrence, Kan., Circleville, Ohio, and most recently Iowa City, died Oct. 4, 2018, in Solon, at the age of 83. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City. A luncheon will follow at Kirkwood Avenue Church of Christ. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Iowa City Hospice or the Kirkwood Avenue Church of Christ.

Margaret Douglas Sanders was born July 7, 1935, in Paris, Ky., near where her mother, Mary Isabel Patterson Sanders, was raised on the north edge of Tennessee. Her father, M. Howard Sanders was from Mount Eagle, Tenn. Her parents met at David Lipscomb college in Nashville, Tenn.

Margaret grew up in Knoxville on Bearden Hill and attended the University of Tennessee, studying mechanical engineering. She graduated as the university's first female graduate in engineering. She subsequently continued her studies toward a master's and met her husband, George M. Drake Jr., as a graduate student lecturing in the same classroom one hour apart. They never separated after that.

Margaret graduated as stated from the University of Tennessee, taught at J. Sargent Reynolds and Virginia Commonwealth University and subsequently received her doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1979, focusing on solar assisted heat pumps. Afterward, she was part of the faculty at the Ohio State University in mechanical engineering teaching thermodynamics, heat transfer and design. She also was president of the Columbus chapter of ASHRAE for several years as well as consulting on geothermal heat pump design and installation.

Margaret and George married and had four children, Douglas Thomas, Virginia Katherine, Mary Margaret and George Marshall. They lived in Richmond, Va., Lawrence, Kan. and Circleville, Ohio, as George's career with Dupont advanced.

Margaret was first a teacher, as sharing her knowledge was her passion. Her curiosity ranged from mushroom collecting to studying German, but her real love was traveling, exploring and meeting new cultures and people. She taught in Malaysia several times and traveled extensively with People to People to understand heating and engineering challenges in different parts of the world. Margaret was also very active in her church, was a respected teacher and sought-after lecturer for retreats and women's studies.

Margaret is survived by all four of her children and her six grandchildren, Timothy, Benjamin, Willow, Tabitha, Annika and Antonia.

She was preceded in death by both her parents and her husband, George M. Drake, who died in 2003.

We want to especially thank Legacy Retirement Village of Iowa City, Solon Nursing Care Center of Solon and Hospice Care of Iowa City for their loving care of our mother.

Online condolence may be made at www.lensingfuneral.com.