John Joseph Drew

John was born and raised in Queens, New York; to his late parents, John and Caroline (Ann Kremer). He attended P.S. 146 & Robert H Goddard schools, and graduated from John Adams High School. John entered law enforcement in the New York City Police Department, rising to the rank of Sergeant; and serving with the CIS / PSA #9. He retired in June 2006.

In his private time, John truly enjoyed spending quality time with his family and friends. He loved to travel and has visited 35 states and 12 countries. He was also an avid reader who purchased countless books. In fact, we would joke that his residence was the Levittown library. John was a fiercely loyal Mets and Jets fan who enjoyed watching their games from the stadium and at home with family. He was always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone whenever and wherever needed. More than anything, John was a loving father who will be deeply missed by his four children. He was actively involved in their upbringing and was proud of all their accomplishments. He raised them to be beautiful, kind, loving, and respectful people. In the last decade, he coached the youth sports teams of his two youngest children. He was always happy to drive his children to practices, social activities and school events.

His legacy and bond that he formed with each of his children were unique to each of their personalities and interests. With Christina he would discuss their love of reading and they would work together on their family ancestry. She would always wait to hear him come home when she was little, and it led to their quality time being into the late hours when everyone else was asleep. With Stephanie they would spend their time discussing new adventures and places to travel. They had an opportunity to go to a couple of states and were always planning how to hit all 50. With Jaclyn he was Mr. Mom and the ultimate “Girl Dad”. From shopping, styling her hair and encouraging her to be a social butterfly. With Nick he finally had his son who ended up being a Yankees fan and that would lead to fun debates about who rules NY, Mets or Yankees. He also taught Nick everything he needed to know to understand sports, play sports and grow to be an amazing student athlete. He was a huge part of the community and always tried to take the neighborhood kids under his wing and treated them like his own.

John was always very fond of animals, he owned and rescued many dogs and cats throughout his lifetime. He especially doted on his current dog Ginger who will miss their snuggles on the couch. Please, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the North Shore Animal League at "North Shore Animal League", 16 Lewyt Street, Port Washington, New York 11050. (516) 883-2000

John is survived by his beloved family - his wife, Lee; his children - Christina, Stephanie, Jaclyn and Nicholas; and his brother, Michael. Also surviving is his former wife, Rose Ann; his mother and father-in-law, Leonard and Elsie Cepale; his sisters-in-law, Jennifer (Michael) Garro and Stephanie (Eric) Struck; and his nieces - Ashley Garro, Brianna Garro and Sydney Struck. In addition to his parents, John is also predeceased by his brother, Patrick.

Family and friends will gather at the funeral home for visitation on Wednesday, October 7th, from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. The Funeral Service will be offered by Fr. Dominick Dellaporte in the chapel at 8 p.m. Cremation services are private.

PANDEMIC NOTES: The Funeral Home is following the guidelines set by the office of Governor Cuomo. All visitors MUST wear masks for the entire time you are in the building. If you have traveled into New York from any of the currently-listed 'restricted states'; you are not permitted entrance and must quarantine.

ENTRANCE: The main entrance is closed, and entry is through the rear entrance only, where our handicap ramp lies. We are permitted 35 visitors in the building at one time, and entry is by ticket. Upon your entrance you will be given a ticket which will be kept on your person during your visit. You will surrender your ticket when you exit. During visitation, when we reach full capacity, arriving visitors must wait outside until tickets are surrendered by those leaving to allow those outside to enter.