Obituary for Joseph Edwin Drago
The family of Joseph Edwin Drago announce his passing on February 10, 2021 at the age of 72 years. Eddie as he was known to family and friends lived in Pleasantville for the past 25 years
He was the first born son of Salvatore and Betty Jean (née Peterson) on August 18, 1948 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Five years later the family moved to the Silver Beach area of Throgs Neck the Bronx where he was raised with his younger brother Salvatore.
As a child he played the accordion tutored By Vinny Roberts studio and was a member of the Saint Frances De Chantal CYO sea cadet corps.
Summer holidays were spent in Waynesville, Ohio at grandma Alma Petersons’ Farm. At the County Fair he proudly took a blue ribbon for his floral arrangement.
After graduation from Mount Saint Michael High School in the Bronx he entered the University of Dayton graduating with a bachelor of science degree in 1970.
He taught junior high school but left teaching to follow a business career. He bought and sold jewelry, coins, and antiques in the tri-state area for more than
30 years. He owned his business at the Crosby Avenue Jewelers in the Bronx. He was a fair and decent businessman who educated himself about his products.
Aside from work Eddie enjoyed going to the movies and completing the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle.
Eddie met Ann Marie Hopkins a registered nurse at a CYO dance in Whitestone Queens in September 1984. They were married the following year in October 12, 1985. On Thanksgiving weekend in 1994 they moved to Pleasantville, New York to start their family.
Three year old Patrick was adopted from Volsk, Saratov, Russia in 1997. 12 year old John Evgeny and 11-year-old Marie EKaterina were adopted in 1999. After the death of her brother John in 2008 Marie located her sister Natasha with the help of a video graphic reporter friend named Ekaterina Ustinova in 2014.
When Eddie‘s vision failed and health problems progressed he retired from his business and tutored students part time. He attended the Mount Pleasant Community Center for lunch, met new friends,
and attended social gatherings there with his wife.
He is predeceased by his son John Evgeny and his 16-year-old collie mix named Biscuit.
Eddie is survived by his brother Salvatore, sister in law Mary, his children Marie and Patrick, nieces Christine Folchi Zavadil and Jennifer Hopkins, nephews Brian Thomas Folchi, Brian Patrick, and Brendan James Hopkins. He is also survived by his wife Ann Marie.
Due to Covid and weather conditions please do not send any flowers. The family will receive friends at the Beecher Flooks Funeral Home on Monday from 2-4 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday at 10:00 AM at Holy Innocents R.C. Church in Pleasantville. Burial will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, NY.
He was the first born son of Salvatore and Betty Jean (née Peterson) on August 18, 1948 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Five years later the family moved to the Silver Beach area of Throgs Neck the Bronx where he was raised with his younger brother Salvatore.
As a child he played the accordion tutored By Vinny Roberts studio and was a member of the Saint Frances De Chantal CYO sea cadet corps.
Summer holidays were spent in Waynesville, Ohio at grandma Alma Petersons’ Farm. At the County Fair he proudly took a blue ribbon for his floral arrangement.
After graduation from Mount Saint Michael High School in the Bronx he entered the University of Dayton graduating with a bachelor of science degree in 1970.
He taught junior high school but left teaching to follow a business career. He bought and sold jewelry, coins, and antiques in the tri-state area for more than
30 years. He owned his business at the Crosby Avenue Jewelers in the Bronx. He was a fair and decent businessman who educated himself about his products.
Aside from work Eddie enjoyed going to the movies and completing the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle.
Eddie met Ann Marie Hopkins a registered nurse at a CYO dance in Whitestone Queens in September 1984. They were married the following year in October 12, 1985. On Thanksgiving weekend in 1994 they moved to Pleasantville, New York to start their family.
Three year old Patrick was adopted from Volsk, Saratov, Russia in 1997. 12 year old John Evgeny and 11-year-old Marie EKaterina were adopted in 1999. After the death of her brother John in 2008 Marie located her sister Natasha with the help of a video graphic reporter friend named Ekaterina Ustinova in 2014.
When Eddie‘s vision failed and health problems progressed he retired from his business and tutored students part time. He attended the Mount Pleasant Community Center for lunch, met new friends,
and attended social gatherings there with his wife.
He is predeceased by his son John Evgeny and his 16-year-old collie mix named Biscuit.
Eddie is survived by his brother Salvatore, sister in law Mary, his children Marie and Patrick, nieces Christine Folchi Zavadil and Jennifer Hopkins, nephews Brian Thomas Folchi, Brian Patrick, and Brendan James Hopkins. He is also survived by his wife Ann Marie.
Due to Covid and weather conditions please do not send any flowers. The family will receive friends at the Beecher Flooks Funeral Home on Monday from 2-4 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday at 10:00 AM at Holy Innocents R.C. Church in Pleasantville. Burial will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, NY.