Floyd L. Draper

Floyd Lawrence Draper, age 93, passed away Sept. 23, 2012, peacefully at home, of natural causes. Floyd was born in American Falls, Idaho, April 2, 1919, the youngest of eight children to Nina Bell Stewart and Andrew George Draper. His childhood was spent in the Aberdeen/Rockland area of Idaho. His parents were farmers and ranchers and Floyd's favorite job growing up was "driving the tractor." As a patriot, he joined the U.S. Army in 1942 at the age of 23. During World War II, he was with the 555 Ordnance Company (tank division), 9th Army, 12th Army Group, during the Battle of the Bulge at Ardennes under Gen. Omar Bradley. In 1945, Floyd was honorably discharged and moved to Fallon, where his parents lived. He began working for Dodge Construction as a heavy equipment mechanic and shortly thereafter met and married his wife, of 62 years, Helen Troester. From 1947 to 1950, Floyd, Helen and their children traveled throughout Nevada with the Dodge road crews building roadways. In the early 1950's, Floyd and Helen moved to Indian Springs when they both began working at the Nevada Test Site for REECO, a government sub-contractor. In 1954, the family moved to Las Vegas, and built their home on the outskirts of the city. Floyd worked for REECO for many years and later for Wells Cargo Construction as a mechanic foreman/repairman until his retirement in 1984. Floyd was a proud member/retiree of Local 12 of the International Union of Operating Engineers. Although Floyd never farmed or "worked" a ranch in southern Nevada, he always had many horses, dogs, cats and even rabbits. He loved animals, especially horses and was a true "cowboy." After retirement, Floyd became active in the Masonic Lodge #32, the Zelzah Shrine and the Elks Lodge. He was a founding member of the Zelzah Shrine "Horse Patrol" and rode with the other members in many parades and rodeos in Nevada and neighboring states. Floyd was preceded in death by his parents; his seven siblings; his grandson, Eric; and his wife, Helen. He is survived by his daughter, Paula Zub; son, Lawrence (Pam) Draper; sister-in-law, Paula Saragoza, all of Las Vegas; son, Floyd Jr. (Susi) of El Paso, Texas; four grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Services will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28 at Memory Gardens Memorial Park, 7251 W. Lone Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV 89129.

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