Clarena Kay Drye Obituary (1945

Clarena Kay Drye May11, 1945 – April 23, 2026 Bloomington- Clarena (Lena Bakker) Drye ,80, passed into her eternal rest on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at her son’s home in Downers Grove, IL. Lena was born May 11, 1945, in Doon, Iowa, a daughter of Cornie Bakker and Tilly (Koolhaas) Bakker. She married the love of her life, George Drye, July 3, 1970, at Rock Valley, Iowa. He preceded her in entering his eternal rest on October 11, 2024 as did her brother Edward Bakker. She is survived by sisters-in-laws Mary Drye of Bloomington and Linda Drye of Erlanger, Ky.; Children Daniel (Renee) Drye of Crest Hill, Nathan (Qiana) Drye of Downers Grove, David (Nicole) Drye of Dayton, OH., Hannah (Bryant) Giorgi of Washington D.C.; Grandchildren, Madison, Samantha, Joshua, Dylan, Reagan, Christian, Elizabeth, Dean and Blaise. She graduated from Calvin College with a BA in Physical Education and English and from Illinois State University with a MA in education. She taught and coached in Michigan and at Bloomington High School where she started the girls basketball team before dedicating her life as a stay at home mom to raising her family. She later was a substitute teacher for 30 years at many area schools and officiated basketball and volleyball for over 40 years. Lena was a life long athlete and played many sports but basketball was her first love. She played and coached during the foundational years for women’s sports and enjoyed seeing more equality for women’s sports with Title IX. She and George coached their children’s sports teams growing up and Lena continued playing with and “coaching” her children and grandchildren her whole life. Her competitive spirit lasted even into her 70’s when she would still be out on the court with her grandchildren and still get irritated when she missed a shot or lost a game. She enjoyed the outdoors, hard work, and playing games. She loved spending time with George, her children, and grandchildren with having everyone together for the Drye Family Summer Vacation for many years being a highlight. Lena enjoyed for 20 years working alongside George and her children in the Drye Guys Mowing business helping all her children fund college. Lena served Immanuel Baptist Church as a Sunday School teacher and with George served many years as youth group leaders, taking the group on several mission trips to work with disadvantaged children in rural Mississippi. A funeral service will be held at 9:00am Thursday, April 30, 2026 at Immanuel Baptist Church in Bloomington with Pastor Keith Throop officiating. Visitation will be held from 7:00pm-8:30pm Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Calvert Metzler Memorial Home in Bloomington, IL. Burial at Funks Grove Cemetery will follow the service. Memorials may be made in Lena’s name to Immanuel Baptist Church to the Youth Group Fund or Living Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center both in Bloomington.