JoAnn Morrison Drake

JoAnn Morrison Drake~ August 27, 1929 -August 18, 2026

There are people who leave behind memories, and there are people who leave behind a way of life. JoAnn Morrison Drake belonged to the latter.

JoAnn was born on August 27, 1929, in Seminole, Oklahoma--quite literally in a tent on the 600 block of Russell Street. It was the heart of Oklahoma's oil boom, a town whose brick-paved streets bustled with roughnecks, dreamers, and families chasing opportunity during the Great Depression. Although her childhood was marked by frequent moves as her father, Delbert "Deb" Morrison, followed drilling jobs from one boom town to another, Seminole always remained home in her heart. She often reminisced about those days, when teenagers spent their evenings "dragging Main," circling Herman's Pig Stand, and enjoying the simple pleasures of small-town life.

Her father began his career on cable-tool drilling rigs before transitioning to rotary drilling, and the family lived the nomadic existence familiar to oilfield families. JoAnn never cared for the dismissive label "oilfield trash," yet she carried immense pride in the work ethic, resilience, and determination that the oilfield instilled in her family. Those values would shape the rest of her life.

After graduating from Seminole High School, JoAnn accepted a position with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company-"Ma Bell," as everyone called it. It was there that another chapter of her story began when she married Jimmy Allen Drake bn July 29, 1949.

Together they embarked on a remarkable journey through life and the oilfield. While Jimmy served in the United States Army on Okinawa, their son, Greg, was born. The family later settled briefly in Duncan, Oklahoma, where their daughter Gayla was born two years later. The oilfield then carried them to Russell, Kansas, then Hobbs, New Mexico, and finally to Farmington, New Mexico, in 1959, when Jimmy joined Sayers Well Service.

In 1963, after Sayers Well Service was sold, Jimm and JoAnn faced a crossroads. Rather than leave Farmington, they chose to bet on themselves. At what seemed like the worst possible moment-on the tail end of an oil boom-they started Drake Well Service.

It wasn't easy.

They quickly discovered that in the oil business every boom is eventually followed by another bust. Through each cycle they endured the uncertainty, tightened their belts, and kept moving forward. As the years passed, their business grew, Farmington prospered, friendships multiplied, and their roots became firmly planted in the community they loved. What began as a gamble became not only a successful family business but a legacy spanning generations.

Behind the scenes, JoAnn became the backbone of Drake Well Service. She ran the office with precision, discipline, and uncompromising standards. Employees knew her as a tough perfectionist who expected every detail to be right. Customers respected her honesty, efficiency, and quiet confidence. Though short in stature, she was undeniably large in presence. Her strength filled every room she entered, and she earned respect not by demanding it, but by living it every day.

While the business was important, family was always first. JoAnn devoted herself wholeheartedly to being a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and later, great-grandmother. She also embraced many of Jimmy's passions, making fishing trips and horse racing favorites they enjoyed together throughout their marriage. Whether cheering on a horse at the track or casting a line into quiet waters, the moments they shared became some of their happiest memories.

To those who knew her best, JoAnn was strong, loyal, practical, and fiercely devoted to the people she loved. She believed that hard work mattered, promises should be kept, and family came before everything else.

JoAnn was preceded in death by her beloved husband of more than sixty years, Jimmy Allen Drake, in 2011, and by her cherished grandson, Kyle Ardell Drake, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 24.

She is survived by her son, Greg Drake and his wife, Jennifer; her daughter, Gayla McCulloch and her husband, Allen; her granddaughter, Tiffany Gay and her husband, Chad; her grandsons, Drake McCulloch and his wife, Danielle and Robert Bryce McCulloch; and her great-grandchildren, Kyle Ardell Drake, Elise Gay, Easton Gay, and Landry McCulloch.

The story of JoAnn Drake is inseparable from the story of Farmington, the San Juan Basin, and Drake Well Service. She helped build all three with quiet determination, unwavering standards, and an enduring love for her family.

Though she would smile at being remembered as “oilfield trash," those who knew her know the truth. She was one of the toughest women the oilfield ever produced-a woman of grace, grit, and unwavering character whose legacy will continue through the family she loved and the business she helped build.