Melvin Eldridge Drewery, Jr. of Heber Springs, Arkansas passed away January 4, 2012. He was born May 29, 1933 in Memphis, Tennessee to the late Melvin and Martha LaHue Drewery.
Melvin owned a family operated company, Mel Drewery Underwater Contractors. He engaged in cable and pipe line river crossings from North Dakota to the Republic of Panama, from New York to Texas and salvage operations along the inland waterways. He worked with government and private industry on projects such as locks and dams, power plants, bridges, docks, paper mills, chemical plants and refineries. He has worked on some of the largest projects in the country, but would still recover a shotgun or fishing gear for the sportsman.
Melvin attended both Memphis State University and the University of Mississippi. He served in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1955, where he attended diving school in Hunters’ Point, San Francisco, Bayonne, New Jersey, and Coronado, California. He received the Korean Service Medal and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation.
Drewery started his diving business in 1962 and was associated with hundreds of companies, including: Ford, Bacon & Davis, ARCO Pipe Line, Arkansas-Louisiana Gas Company, and Pentzien Incorporated. He serviced pipeline river crossings at depths of 15 feet to 285 feet, over such rivers as the White River, the Ohio River, the Houston Ship Channel, the Red River, the Mississippi River, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Straits of Mackinac. He specialized in inspections, salvage, demolition, welding, cutting and burning, photography, concrete repair and jetting.
In 1971, Drewery was made an “Arkansas Traveler” by Governor Dale Bumpers for his work on the locks and dams of the Arkansas River Navigational System. Drewery was inducted into the Pipeliners Hall of Fame in 1982.
Drewery was a member of American Legion Post 64 in Heber Springs, and the Special Forces Association “Larry A. Thorne Memorial Chapter.” He enjoyed collecting marine artifacts and barbecue cooking. In fact, he was a member of the “Pot Bellied Porkers”, which was the 1988 Team of the Year in the Memphis in May International Barbecue Cooking Contest.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Drewery was preceded in death by a son, Neal LaHue. He is survived by his wife, Janice Marie Calcagno of Heber Springs; a son, Michael Edward; one daughter, Theresa Marie Snyder and her husband Jackie Dale; two granddaughters, Suzanne Marie Snyder and Kathryn Marie Neighbours and her husband Thomas; one great-grandchild, Lena Kate; other relatives and many friends. Cremation arrangements are entrusted to the Heber Springs Funeral Home. Please sign online guestbook at www.heberspringsfuneralhome.com. or call 501-887-9152.
