KIRK DREW 1930 - 2014 Kirk Drew, 84, beloved husband, father, grandfather, coach, mentor and Christian, passed away and went to be with the Lord on Friday, March 14, 2014, and will be missed by all for his strong leadership and Christian example. Service: 11 a.m. Wednesday at Lakeside Baptist Church. Interment: 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Laurel Oaks Memorial Park in Mesquite. Visitation: 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Wiley Funeral Home in Granbury. Memorials: May be made to the Parkinson's Foundation or Lakeside Baptist Church. After he received his master's degree from North Texas State on a football scholarship, Kirk began his distinguished head coaching career at Galena Park in Houston. Four years later, he was head football coach at South San ISD. He went to Robert E. Lee Northeast ISD in San Antonio in 1958 as head coach. At Lee, he coached what was voted on by the Texas high school sportswriters as the "Game of the Decade" for Texas high school football for the 1960s, Robert E. Lee vs. Brackenridge of San Antonio. Lee won 55 to 48. This game was then determined to be the "Game of the Century" for Texas high school football. As usual, Kirk set the bar high. Later, in 1965, Kirk took Lee to the state championship game played between Lee and Odessa Permian with the score Odessa, 11, and Lee, 6. In 1966, Kirk took the head coaching position with R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton-Farmers Branch. That year he took that team, not expected to win district, to the state 4A semi-finals. Because of this, he was named Coach of the Year for the state of Texas by the Texas High School Coaches Association. Kirk retired from coaching in 1973 to become the assistant superintendent for Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. In this position, he was able to give his expertise and vision for the school district. In June 1985, Kirk retired from the CFB school district and started his own business, Drew Consulting Company, consulting for asbestos abatement. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing. Kirk was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Clara Alderman Drew; and sister, Mary Nell Burnett. Survivors: Wife, Yevonne Drew; children, Byron and Laura Drew, Kaye and Maxwell Barr, Kevin and Becky Drew and John and Amy Drew; grandchildren, Aaron and Sarah Barr, Johnathan and Christy Barr, Meridith and Barrett Durst, David Drew, Jason Drew, Wesley Drew, Patrick and Kendra Drew, Matthew Drew, Kaitlyn Drew, Brenden Drew, Brycen Drew and Kindall Drew; great-grandchildren, Nathaniel Barr, Lilian Barr, Caleb Barr, Ethan Barr and Mackenzie Barr; and brother, Bob and Martha Drew.

Published in Star-Telegram on March 16, 2014
Austin American-Statesman - March 16, 2014

E. Kirk Drew, ex-R.L. Turner High football coach, dies at 84

E. Kirk Drew had a long, successful high school coaching career by encouraging his players rather than motivating them through fear.

His formula helped build football programs in Houston and San Antonio before he was named head coach at R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton in 1966.

He was named Texas 4A coach of the year for his Turner Lions, who had been predicted to finish last in their district in 1966 but went to the state semifinal game instead.

Drew, 84, died Friday of natural causes at Lake Granbury Medical Center.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Wiley Funeral Home in Granbury. Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury. Graveside services will be at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Laurel Oaks Memorial Park in Mesquite.

“He could really relate to the kids,” said his son Kevin Drew of Grapevine. “He had more of an encouraging type personality. He had discipline — don’t get me wrong — but I don’t think it was a fear-type discipline.”

Drew was born in San Saba and grew up in Dallas, where he graduated from Pleasant Grove High School — now Samuell High — in 1948. He attended North Texas State College, now the University of North Texas, on a football scholarship. He lettered in three sports at North Texas, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1952. He later earned a master’s degree from the school.

After graduating from North Texas, Drew started his career at Galena Park High School in Houston, where he was an assistant football coach for four years. He then took the head football coaching job at South San Antonio. In 1958, he started the football program at San Antonio’s Robert E. Lee High School, where he coached until he moved to Carrollton.

“Dad was real respectful of people,” Kevin Drew said.

Early in his career, he ate in the kitchen with his black players if they were denied service in a restaurant, said another son, John Drew of Prosper.

In Carrollton, Drew coached the Turner Lions to 11 wins and two losses his first season. Turner was eliminated in the semifinals by San Angelo, the eventual Class 4A state champion. At the time, 4A was made up of the state’s largest high schools.

Drew was physical education coordinator, athletic director and head football coach until 1973, when he became an assistant superintendent for the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District. He retired from the district in June 1985 and started an asbestos abatement consulting business, Drew Consulting Services Inc.

He retired in 1990 and moved to Fredericksburg. He had lived in Granbury for about 12 years.

In addition to his sons Kevin and John, Drew is survived by his wife, YEvonne Drew of Granbury; another son, Byron Drew of Buda; a daughter, Kaye Barr of Coahoma; a brother, Bob Drew of Granbury; 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation or Lakeside Baptist Church