• EDWARD E. DREW, JR.  

    Edward E. Drew, Jr., known as Eddie to family and friends, was  born in Emporia, Virginia on May 22, 1947. He was born to Evelyn C.  and Edward E. Drew, Sr. Seven and a half years later, they had their  second child, Dorothy, or Dottie. His father, Edward Sr., was the principal of the original Stafford Sr. High, presently known as Drew  Middle, before working at the Stafford County School Board Office.  Eddie’s mother, Evelyn, taught at Falmouth Elementary School when it  first opened, but later taught at Drew Middle. Eddie’s little sister,  Dottie, grew up to become Dottie Drew Truslow and is currently the  principal of Margaret Brent Elementary.  

    As a youth, Eddie was very artistic, yet very athletic. He enjoyed  playing basketball on Norview High School’s team. He also played  baseball on a team that was similar to Parks and Rec. As a teen, he was  a lifeguard at Ocean View on the Chesapeake Bay during the summers.  In the Norfolk area, where he lived at the time, a relatively large snow  storm hit them. Having been inspired, he created an incredibly detailed  snow gorilla. His artistic abilities attracted people from miles away to  come and view his masterpiece!  

    While living at home in Norfolk, he chose to attend Old Dominion  University. His father had been a coach and was an assistant principal  at the time. Eddie’s mother, Evelyn, was attending ODU at the same  time as he was, and majoring in education. Educational careers  seemed to run in the family, and Eddie wanted to follow his family’s  educational tradition. 

    Upon graduating from college, he taught P.E. and Social Studies  at Gayle Middle School, and also coached football. Applying his artistic  abilities to his teaching, he would create caricatures of the teachers to  advertise a basketball game between teachers and students.  

    While at Gayle, he was appointed as the assistant principal of the  new middle school, which had previously been Stafford Sr. High School.  However, he was never able to fill the position due to being tragically  killed at a spring dance at Gayle Middle in 1974 after a police officer’s  gun misfired. The new middle school was later named in his honor,  Edward E. Drew, Jr. Middle School. 

    A special thanks to Mrs. Dottie Drew Truslow whose help was significant  in writing this biography.