Athol Memorial Hospital recently received a $38,000 gift from the Drew family of Orange. Siblings John and Cynthia Drew presented the donation in memory of their parents, Earl and Phyllis Drew.  “We want to acknowledge how much this hospital means to us,” stated John Drew “and how grateful our entire family is for the care it provides.”

Earl Drew moved here in the 1920’s, when he was just a child.  He grew up in the area and in 1942 married Phyllis Moody, from Phillipston.  They settled in a house in Tully, where they spent their entire married life and raised a family of three.  Their youngest child, Cynthia, was born at Athol Memorial Hospital.  The two older children, Earl Jr. and John, were born before the hospital was built.  In 1958, Earl Drew decided to start a construction sand and gravel business, Earl R. Drew and Son, which remains in the family today under the name Porter Transportation, Inc.   

“We are extremely thankful that the Drew Family has chosen to honor their parents in this generous way,” remarked Jim Meehan, Athol Memorial Hospital’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  A bronze plaque engraved “In Memory of Earl and Phyllis Drew, Dedicated June 2007” will be placed in the hospital’s Emergency Department.