Stephen Thomas Drane
7/27/1939 - 4/27/2024

Stephen Thomas Drane, age 84, of Kerrville, Texas, passed away on April 27, 2024, in St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital in San Antonio. He was born on July 27, 1939, in Houston, Texas to Mary Elizabeth Drane and Dr. Hugh Albert Drane, Jr. He married Jana Sharp Drane on December 27,1969 in Littlefield, Texas.

The family moved to Hunt, Texas in 1944 where he attended the Hunt School, San Antonio Academy, and Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas. He graduated from Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas on August 21,1965 with a degree in Finance. On June 1, 1968, Stephen was awarded a Master of Business Administration from Texas Technological College. While he was working for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) he met and married his bride, Jana. He worked for the FDIC from 1968 until 1971. In the summer of 1971, Stephen began working for Chas. Schreiner Bank in Kerrville and retired from banking in 1976. Several years later he began managing a family partnership.

Stephen was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Hugh Albert Drane, Jr. and his mother, Mary Elizabeth Drane.

Survivors include his widow, Jana Drane; daughter The Reverend Cristi Chapman and her husband Chris; son David Drane and wife, Laura; grandchildren, Madeline Chapman, Cooper Drane and Brooklyn Drane; sisters Paula Drane Caskey and husband, Marshall; Dorothy Ammerman and husband John; and several nieces and nephews.

Stephen’s great love of recreational flying began at an early age when on July 30, 1952, he had a 15 minute “Introductory flight” with Robert Sieker, his flight instructor. To earn flight time, he worked at Kerrville Flying Service. Only three years later on July 27, 1955, he soloed in a Piper J-3 Cub on his 16th birthday. On July 13, 1981, Stephen took his first glider ride in a Schweitzer 2-33 at Black Forest Gliderport in Colorado Springs, Colorado. From that day on, his first love of flight was to be in a glider, watching hawks to mark the way and to help him locate thermals. In subsequent years Stephen flew a DG-400 and lastly his ASW 22 BLE which he fondly called “Big Bird”. He had many flights that lasted more than four hours. He loved to fly long triangle distances, some more than 350 km (about 217.48 mi) long. Stephen never lost his love of flying airplanes.

Stephen served on the Kerrville/Kerr County Joint Airport Board. Wherein he served as the Chairman of the Airport Board.

Stephen has been a member of the Soaring Society of America (SSA) since July 1981.He earned many soaring awards through SSA and the International Gliding Commission (IGC), including SSA Gold Badge and an IGC Diamond Badge. He loved working at improving his flight distances and lengths of flight time.

Stephen was an active communicant of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Kerrville. He served on the Vestry at St. Peter’s and during his last year on the Vestry, he served as Junior Warden. During that year he worked to keep the physical plant running smoothly.

Stephen had a beautiful gift for woodworking. After serving his term on the Vestry, Stephen was asked to make an Altar to be used in Tucker Hall and later in the Chapel at St. Peter’s. He also made a processional cross to be used in the Chapel. The Pecan wood used to make the altar, the processional cross and several other crosses were all made from a pecan tree in which Stephen played as a child.

Funeral services will be held at 2 pm on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Kerrville with The Reverend Bert Baetz and The Reverend Michael Wheeler officiating. The interment will be in the Columbarium at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

Memorials may be made to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in memory of Stephen, or to the charity of one’s choice.

The family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to his caretakers at Juniper as well as the doctors and nurses who cared for Stephen at St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital in San Antonio. Also, we wish to say thank you to Ginny Stehling and Dave Weekly for their friendship, company, and compassion throughout Stephen’s life.

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