Carmon Lee Drain's Obituary
Carmon Lee “Carm” Drain, age 95, of Edmore, Michigan, passed away peacefully at MyMichigan Hospital Alma on December 29, 2025. Carm was born on June 13, 1930, to Harold C. Drain and Mary Stanlake Drain. He graduated from Edmore High School in 1950, after living in St. Louis, Alma and Blanchard. Carm was inducted into the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War from May 1951 until February 1953 as a rifleman and medic. His army “buddies” always called him “Doc Drain”. He was a private contractor, working on his backhoe, and laughed when he was asked his occupation, saying “I’m a ditch-digger.” On August 12, 1993, Carm married Shirley Mallory in Branson, Missouri.
After the war, Carm began studying to try to understand why that war happened. In doing so, he developed a love of history. He became a storyteller of historical happenings and a collector of historical memorabilia. Giving a program using historical flags in Battle Creek, he took questions at the end of the program. Not getting called on, a student yelled out, “Hey, you old fence rider, I have a question.” The newspaper picked up the name, and for many years he was known as The Old Fence Rider, giving talks in schools, organizations, and to many groups. It was about 1990 when all the collections were placed in a building called The Old Fence Rider Historical Center Museum. It was Carm’s pride and joy and he could be found there every day until he was not able, and the operation was turned over to the Board of Directors. His second love was traveling, and along with his wife he visited every state in union except Hawaii.
Carm is survived by his wife, Shirley of Edmore; and 2 stepdaughters, Vicki Wilson and Don of Ormond Beach, Florida and Carla McParland and Mike of Edmore.
He was preceded in death by his parents; 2 older sisters, June and Virginia; and 2 younger brothers, Dick and Marvin.
He also leaves behind a multitude of nieces, nephews and step-grandchildren.
He loved his family and was so very proud of them all.
A memorial service for Carm will be held at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at Janowicz Family Funeral Home in Edmore. The family will greet friends from 2:00 PM until the time of service.
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