David M. Drayer, 80, of Indianapolis, passed away on September 23, 2021, with his loving family by his side.
Born January 14, 1941 in Akron, Ohio, he was the third of four children of Harold T., Sr and Millie (Packo) Drayer. David was a graduate of Union City High School, Union City, PA, class of 1958. The family moved there when he was two. After graduation, David moved to Chicago, where he met the love of his life, Dolores, in Sunday school class, where they learned that they had the same birthday. They married in Chicago on February 11, 1961 and joined David’s older brother on a dairy farm in Boscobel, Wisconsin. That didn’t last long, or lasted too long you might say, and later they returned to Chicago where he became a carpenter. That is until November 1965 when he received a letter from his Uncle Sam requesting his presence in the US Army. From there he saw Ft Polk, Louisiana, Ft Leonard Wood, Missouri, and ultimately much of South Vietnam, returning home in 1967.
In 1976, Dave, Dolores and their three sons moved to Ouray, Colorado, a dream for them. Dave built, and he along with his wife ran the Matterhorn Motel (known then as the Bright Diamond Motel). Then in 1991 he built, and he and Dolores ran the Comfort Inn (now the Quality Inn) from which they retired in 1999, and then traveled extensively in their RV.
David is survived by his loving wife, Dolores, sons David, Grand Junction, Darrin, Indianapolis, and Dodd, Greenwood, IN, and his partner Liam Williams, who was loved like a son. He is also survived by his brother Les, Union City, PA, grandchildren Tristen, Seneca, SC, Teagan, Grand Junction, and Aidan Gutierrez (Edgar) of Aurora, CO and their children Joanna, Taran, and a baby expected mid-October, and many nieces and nephews.
Cremation has taken place, and the family will gather together when Dolores passes to scatter both of their ashes together, along with those of their beloved pets at the Colorado National Monument, a favorite place. Dave wanted all who remembered him to know that even though he spent his final four years in Indiana, he didn’t want to be thought of as a ‘Hoosier’, as in his heart he was always a Coloradan.
His family will always be grateful for sharing our lives with him. We will remember his “punny” sense of humor, and the good, kind, gentle man he was. We loved him beyond measure, and he in turn loved us and cared for us. We will miss him so, so much.
