Jerrold (Jerry) M. Drake; Advocate for the Blind

Jerrold (Jerry) M. Drake, president of the San Fernando Valley chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of California, has died in a Tarzana hospital. He was 72.

Drake, who lived in Reseda, died Wednesday after suffering a heart attack recently, said his daughter, Sara O’Brien.

Born Jan. 8, 1918, in Espyville Station, Pa., he came to California in 1945 and worked as a security guard until 1952, when he lost his eyesight due to detached retinas.

He became an advocate for the blind and served since the early 1960s on the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind of California. In 1988, he became president of the organization’s Valley chapter and served on the Los Angeles Legal Aid Foundation from 1986 on.

He is survived by sons James Drake of Anaheim and Terry Drake of Seattle; daughter Sara O’Brien of Valencia; brothers Al Drake of Tallahassee, Fla., Frank Drake of Espyville Station, Pa., and Albert Drake of Jamestown, Pa.; sisters Ruth Miller of Lincoln, Neb., and Dorothy Fratis of Ashtabula, Ohio; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

A funeral, with burial to follow, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at the Little Church of the Flowers at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, whose mortuary is handling the arrangements.

Donations can be made to the Jerrold M. Drake Memorial Scholarship Fund at the National Federation of the Blind of California, 5982 S. Land Park Drive, Sacramento 95822.