Patty Jean (Argyle) Drage

1937 ~ 2022

Patty Jean (Argyle) Drage passed away on Thursday morning, June 23rd, 2022 at age 84. She was surrounded by adoring loved ones.

Patty was born on July 14th, 1937 to Ben Clifford Argyle and Fay Janette Thurgood. Patty was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah where she attended Sherman Elementary, Olympus Jr. High, and Granite and Olympus High Schools. She was in one of the first graduating classes of Olympus High School.

While working at Paul’s Ice Cream shop in 1954, Patty met Melvin Grant Drage. Melvin’s cousin was working at the shop, so he came in hoping to get some free ice cream, but left with something much better, having met the love of his life. Melvin tended to be bashful and didn’t often ask girls out. But he kept coming back to the shop to see Patty and when Patty tried to sneak him an extra scoop of ice cream, he knew she liked him too. Patty and Melvin were married on September 1st, 1955 in the Salt Lake, Utah Temple, and were married for almost 67 years.

Patty was a selfless caretaker. She had the most challenging and most rewarding job there is, being a mother to her 6 children. As a mother, she was very attentive and put her children first. She kept a clean home and didn’t let anything get in the way of her weekly wash or house cleaning days, a skill she learned from her mother. When her mother became sick with cancer, she moved her family in with her parents so she could take care of her. After her mother’s death, she brought her father to live with her and her family until his death, about 15 years later.

Patty was a great cook and put together a book of her best recipes. Her spaghetti sauce recipe is consistently used by many of her family members. She was an animal lover and had 25+ pets throughout her life. Two of her favorite sayings were “Don’t get old” and “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it”. She loved all things purple, chocolate (especially Almond Joys), and above all else, her family. Two of her favorite things to do were cuddling babies and resting her head on Melvin’s shoulder while watching scary and mystery movies.

Patty is preceded in death by her parents, Ben Clifford Argyle and Fay Jeanette Thurgood, her half-brother, Bud Argyle, and her half-sister, Louise (Argyle) Randall. She is survived by her loving husband, Melvin Grant Drage, and their 6 children, Cary Grant Drage (Mischele), Sherril Ann (Drage) Bradshaw (Mark), Kathy Lynn (Drage) Whitehead (Jim), Douglas Ben Drage (Mark), Alan Scott Drage and Debera Fay Drage (Rocio) and their 29 grandchildren and 76 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, June 30th at 1:00 PM at the Cottonwood Creek Ward building located at 1250 East 4800 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84117. A viewing will be held there on the same day, prior to the funeral services, from 11:00 AM until 12:40 PM.

To view COMPLETED service via Zoom please click the "Watch Services" button or follow the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/lnG_2kcfQM5VOs5QjVlOlzHFjA1QwByXl8YTj_2-kQPYXQ82xUCwDyUJCpVm_8KD.PGhF2jDMR4Xz-afB?startTime=1656613914000


Guestbook/Condolences

I hit the jackpot for in-laws. The six years she was my mother-in-law are treasures. She loved me like her own. She was a special gift from heaven for me. I miss her. If only more people could be like Patty it would be an amazing world.


- Shellie Drage

We were so fortunate to have had Patty, Mel and family as neighbors for many years. Patty was a wonderful friend. She was always there to help. Two of our children were the same age and they spent a lot of time at the Drage home. They loved Patty. Patty was a great cook and very willing to share her recipes. I still have some. We always looked forward to her plate of Christmas goodies. Our family still remembers the time they took us to their cabin. We are so grateful that Patty was part of our lives. She was a great example to us. We learned so much from her. Our love and sympathy go out to the Drage family.

Love,
The Sonzini Family


- Dianne Sonzini