Fredric Drew Redecker

Fredric Drew Redeker, 77, of Jefferson City, Mo., passed away Sunday, May 10, 2020 at Stone Bridge Adams Street, Jefferson City, Mo. He suffered from a rapidly spreading cancer. Drew was born in St. Louis, Mo. on March 31, 1943, a son of the late Marvin E. and Beatrice R. (Engelage) Redeker of Morrison, Mo. He was a graduate of the Osage County R-1 High School. His college years were interrupted by serving in the U.S. Navy including a Southeast Pacific tour aboard an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam era. He came home to finish a college degree and to find employment. His first work years were with HUD, a federal agency dedicated to rebuilding urban neighborhoods in Kansas City. He then moved to Jefferson City and worked for the Department of Revenue for the remainder of his work years. While providing for a comfortable income, his interests laid in the preservation of local community culture. Drew became quite knowledgeable of the people histories of Gasconade County, Mo. and its surrounding counties. He collected relics and manuscripts from the German migration period from the early 1830's on that captured the melding of European culture into the American society. He provided materials to Charles van Ravensway for his book "The Arts and Architecture of German Settlements in Missouri". He contributed to the understanding of the German past and its influence on current mid-Missouri society. Drew is survived by a brother, Gary Redeker and wife Susan of Oro Valley, Ariz.; two nieces, Hally Stanley and husband Don of Glenview, Ill. and Jody Redeker of Arlington, Va. Graveside services will be held at a later date at Good Hope Cemetery, Morrison, Mo. Memorial donations may be given to St. James UCC, Box 690, Morrison, MO 65061 or in c/o Toedtmann and Grosse Funeral Home.