Sandra Jean Drake

On January 3, 2024, Sandra Jean McNulty Drake peacefully entered Heaven at 9:45 AM in Flower Mound, Texas at the age of…well, she would not want her age printed so, you’ll have to do the math:)

Sandra was born in 1939 to Wilson Martin McNulty and Nettie Lucille Parish McNulty, in Overton, Texas. She is preceded in death by her loving parents, brothers, John David Harman, Bobby Harman and half-sister, Beverly Walker. 

She is survived by her daughter, Anecia Drake Hero, her son-in-law, John Christopher Hero, her only grandchild, Camille Elena Hero, her sister, Patricia McNulty Roberts and many cousins, nieces and nephews in the Drake, Cooper, Parish, Harman and Roberts’ families.

As a young girl, she enjoyed school, playing the piano, listening to underground radio (yes..rock and roll, think Elvis) and playing in the oil fields of East Texas. Her family was one of the first to own a brick home in New London, where she attended high school, served on the Student Council, and was awarded Harvest Queen, quite a big deal at London High School.

Upon high school graduation in 1957, she attended Kilgore College, Texas Christian University and East Texas State University, earning a Bachelors of Science Degree and Master’s of Education Degree respectively, in 1960 and 1968. 

During her East Texas college days, she helped found the initial Sigma Zeta chapter of Chi Omega sorority where she made dear, lifelong friends and remained an active member until 2021,  when the sorority didn’t honor her status as a Legacy member and refused to rush her Granddaughter at the University of Arkansas. That really made her mad so she changed her last will and testament and now, the Chi Omega sorority isn’t getting anything from her. 

She married Larry Foster Drake in 1960 and even though they divorced in 1972, they remained life-long friends, celebrating holidays together as a family over the years. (She married two other guys, but she didn’t want to mention them.)

Her 35-year academic career began in 1960 as an English teacher in the Mesquite School District, where she worked for 8 years. She worked 2 years in Dallas Independent School District and 25 years in Richardson Independent School District. She continued to attend college throughout her career, earning advanced certification in Vocational Occupation Education, Business Education, Curriculum Development, Director of Technology and Secondary Administration. 

In 1984, she entered the Doctoral College of Education Program, where she completed all but a few hours. The reasons she didn’t continue the Doctoral program are two-fold: one, her Professor at North Texas University gave her the run-around about her dissertation topic and two, her mother, Lucille, had passed in 1991. That was the last straw for her. She always said that when she visited her Mother’s gravesite, she noticed there were no letters behind anyone’s names on the grave markers, so she decided to discontinue the Ph.D program and “get on with life” by camping, traveling and attending Willie Nelson concerts. One of her favorite Willie songs included the lyrics, “ there’s nothing I can do about it now”, which she always said she wanted included in her obituary.

In her last educator and administrative role, she served as Assistant Principal at J.J. Pearce and Richardson High Schools, both of the Richardson Independent School District, from which she retired in 1997. However, she and Kay Pinkham continued to do contract work, coordinating the North Texas Academic Decathlon for several years. 

She moved from Dallas to Double Oak in XXXX  and bought a beautiful home with wooded acreage. She had lived in Dallas in the townhouse in Lake Highlands for so long, she wanted to get out of the city and return to an environment that resembled her East Texas country roots. She lived in Double Oak until 2017, when she moved a mile west to Flower Mound and John and Anecia bought her house in Double Oak.

Throughout her glorious life, she enjoyed sewing, laughing, knitting, crocheting, drawing, cooking, dancing, listening to music, reading, collecting hand-made pottery, writing lengthy journal entries, telling silly jokes, watching old movies and going on adventures with friends. She was an avid collector of quartz, turquoise, Raku pottery and art. Her lively, out-going spirit continues to live on, as she is at peace with The Lord and reunited with many friends and family members. She will be dearly missed, but never forgotten. 

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