Stanley Paul Drummond was an East Liberty cornerstone, a man of honor and a workaholic. Even though he did many things, he was most noted for the corner market he had on Shetland Street in East Liberty. Drummond passed Wednesday, March 23, at home with his family by his side, at the age of 75.
He was diagnosed with Amyloidosis, which is a very rare disease. There have been only two hundred cases in the world. It is a protein metabolic disorder caused by a disordered immune cell. It is the same disease the late Mayor Richard Caliguri died from and there is no cure.
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| STANLEY PAUL DRUMMOND
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He was the grandfather of All Pro Bowl NFL football player Eddie Drummond and a host of grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. He was born March 27, 1935 in Pittsburgh to the late Mose and Bernice Drummond.
Eddie Drummond put his grandfather on a pedestal and considered him to be the chief of the family. All of the men in the family went to Stanley Drummond for advice because a lot of them did not have father figures around.
“My life is God, family and sports and I would come to him for advice on all three of those issues,” said Eddie Drummond. “He was a motivational speaker for me by getting me ready for football games. He pulled the street out of me as far as being too nice to people that were taking advantage of me. I learned not to trust people as much as I did because of him. He got me out of a lot of binds growing up and I am very grateful to have had him in my life. I always knew that he was somebody special because he impacted my mom’s life so much and she impacted mine.”
Doing God’s work, taking care of his siblings and the people in the community were things that came natural to Drummond. He came from very humble beginnings as a young boy at the age of 8 years old. He worked at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Pittsburgh Press, Sun Telegraph and Enright Bowling Alley setting up the bowling pins. At the age of 10 he started shoveling three to five tons of coal per house for heat.
His daughter, Anita Drummond, became a community activist following in the footsteps of her father. When she was a child, she watched how her father did everything for everyone. Family members and others in the community would come to the main house and they would receive anything they needed.
“My dad always believed that you should give to others in the community and that is what builds the community,” said Anita Drummond. “There was nothing my dad would not do for anyone. I learned early on how to give back and help others from my dad. He would take others into his home and feed them and give them encouragement.”
“Whenever I mentioned that I was Stanley Drummond’s daughter as a child, people would draw to me instantly. I can remember when the apartment building across the street from our grocery store caught on fire, my dad helped out all of the tenants. His grocery store turned into a Red Cross center to help the victims out. During that time, my dad not only saved me, but countless others. He also believed in taking the children out of the community to experience different things.”
Coming from a large family, Drummond was one of nine siblings with four boys and five girls. The four brothers served in the United States military in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
Drummond served in the Air Force from 1950-1954. While in the Air Force stationed in Alaska, he was a boxer and became a middle weight champion.
In later years, he worked for a Lighting Express Tractor Trailor Driving Company and the United States Postal Service. He also knew that there was nothing like having one’s own business. He was the landlord of two apartment buildings and he sold wigs and Christmas trees and delivered them to community homes. He had a used furniture store that sold antiques and a moving company for 12 years called Drummond’s Old Timer Light Hauler Moving Company.
In 1981, he opened Drummond’s Corner Market at 199 Shetland Ave. to put his children through college. The market was open for 15 years until it closed in 1996 and will always be remembered as a major staple in the community.
“I want people to remember that my dad was more than one man. He was an honest and giving man that never knew how to say no. If he had .50 cent, he would squeeze a dollar out of that .50 cent to help the community. He was about his family and helping the community,” Anita said.
The Drummond family continues to carry on his legacy by giving back to the community. While Anita is the Director of PPYPA and the Blue Cats Drill Team, her daughter Darlene Drummond is the assistant director. Along with the grandchildren, everyone in the Drummond family will continue to give back to the community just like Stanley Drummond did.
Drummond is survived by his daughter, Anita Drummond; son, Stanley P. Drummond Jr.; daughter, Yvonne Henderson from Houston; 11 grandchildren, nine great-grand children and a host of relatives and friends.
Funeral arrangements are as follows:
The viewing will be held at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, located at 271 Paulson Ave., Pittsburgh from 4-9 p.m., March 31, and the Homegoing Service will be held at Eastminister Presbyterian Church located at 250 N. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, April 1 at 12 p.m.
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