Fedalma Boyd Drewry

Fedalma Boyd Drewry
September 28, 1916 - June 5, 2017

Fedalma Rozelle Boyd was born to Rozelle Ernest and Charles Boyd on September 28, 1916 in Cleveland. She was very close to her Father, an Interior Decorator, and the Choir Director at Cory Methodist Church, who passed in 1927. She often fondly recalled falling asleep in her room upstairs on 86th Street listening to her Father rehearse the choir downstairs. Her Mother, who passed in 1993 at 103, maintained her husband's business after his death and worked for the Atlanta Life Insurance Company during the Depression, keeping Fedalma and her older Brother Charles active at Cory and taking family trips to Maple Hollow. Fedalma graduated from Central High School in 1934 and from Western Reserve University in 1938. In 1936 Rev. Oliver Quick had come to Cory from Fourth Methodist in Boston and would ultimately marry Fedalma's Mother to her second husband John L. Schooler, preside at Fedalma's wedding and baptize her sons. While at Reserve she joined the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She taught elementary and physical education in the Cleveland Public Schools primarily at Giddings, Mt. Pleasant and Charles W. Chestnut Elementary Schools from 1938 until her retirement in 1978, touching the lives of countless families. She took great pride in arriving before her students in the morning and staying long after the dismissal bell to get that next day's lesson plan on the "blackboard". She passed the importance of education on to her sons John "Jack", a Boston Attorney, and James "Jimmy", a retired Montgomery County Maryland Police Detective.
Family and friends continued to be the most important things to Fedalma throughout her life. As a young girl she traveled to her Grandpa Boyd's home in Abingdon, Virginia and loved riding in the wagons of his livery business. While at Western Reserve she was introduced by friends to a young student, James Nichols Drewry "Jim" from Piqua, Ohio who began serving his internship while graduating from the Cleveland School of Mortuary Science. They finally married on September 1, 1945 when Jim returned to her after serving in World War II. Jim passed in July, 1976. Their circle of friends revolving around the McKoins and Ousleys began to expand as their 10 combined children were arriving in the 40's and 50's. Jim and Bill McKoin started the Reynards and Flournoy Ousley joined and opened his grocery store on the corner of 86th and Quincy and kept his own family, the surrounding community, and all the McKoins and Drewrys on 86th, well fed. The Mothers, Fedalma, Moneva and Dorothy formed the Southsiders and got the children involved in Jack and Jill of America. The children grew up in the Sunday Schools and children's choir at Cory and Mt. Zion, with all three families settling at Mt. Zion by the mid 60's. As the families grew they migrated to the neighborhoods of Mt. Pleasant (123rd), Lee-Harvard (154th) Ludlow (Corby Rd.) and eventually Shaker and Beachwood. All 10 children were active at the Cedar YMCA. At least one child from each Family attended Howard University. Family vacations were also important to all 10 children and included trips to Idlewilde, Michigan, Fox Lake, Indiana and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. On a solo trip to Massachusetts in 1957 the Drewrys visited Fourth Methodist which had become Union Methodist, where Fedalma's son Jack has been a member for 38 years. In 2005 Fedalma followed Bill and Moneva and retired to Leisure World in Silver Spring, Maryland. In 2008 she moved into the home of her Son Jim in Silver Spring, who lovingly cared for his Mother until her passing on June 5th.
In addition to her Parents and Husband Fedalma was predeceased by her Brother in 1990. In addition to her Sons she is survived by 6 grandchildren: Laila (Mark)) of Dartmouth, Massachusetts; Jack and Fednor of Waltham, Massachusetts, James "Jeep" (Samanda) of Atlanta, Georgia and Delbert "CJ" (Randy) and Brian of Silver Spring, and 4 great grandchildren: Jordan, Jackson, and Jayce (Jeep and Samanda) and Zoe (CJ and Randy).

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Fedalma Boyd Drewry, please visit our floral store.