SR0760 LRB093 24188 HSS 54384 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois
3 learned with sadness of the death of Robert J. Raymond of
4 Naperville and Columbus, Mississippi, on Saturday, November
5 20, 2004; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Mr. Raymond was born on September 13, 1913, in
7 Chicago, where he grew up; he graduated from Leo High School;
8 he later graduated from St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa;
9 he married Mae Roche in 1938; and
 
10     WHEREAS, He moved to Naperville in 1941; after originally
11 working as a sales representative for Celotex Corp., he started
12 his own lumber yard, Raymond Lumber Co.; he helped fuel
13 Naperville's growth from small town to booming suburb by
14 selling the wood that helped build many of the homes that began
15 springing up there in the 1950s and 1960s; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Mr. Raymond served a 28-year tenure on the DuPage
17 County Board, where he was instrumental in adding thousands of
18 acres to forest preserves in DuPage County and in the
19 conversion of Edward Hospital from sanitarium to hospital; his
20 efforts also helped pave Naperville roads and secure street
21 signs as the city developed in its infancy; he served as
22 chairman of the committee overseeing the County Highway
23 Department from 1967 to 1980 and president of the Operations
24 Committee of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County; in
25 1997, Raymond Drive was named to honor his work with the DuPage
26 County Highway Department; and
 
27     WHEREAS, He was known for his philanthropy, especially as
28 the founding father of the Naperville United Way in 1951; he
29 was the oldest member of the Naperville Noon Rotary, which he
30 had served as president in 1947, and his love of horses drove
31 him to be a charter member of the Naperville Saddle Club; he

 

 

SR0760 - 2 - LRB093 24188 HSS 54384 r

1 was a member of SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church; he had been
2 active in his district Republican organization and served as
3 committeeman; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Mr. Raymond also owned a ranch in Columbus,
5 Mississippi, where he raised cattle, quarterhorses, and
6 Tennessee walking horses; and
 
7     WHEREAS, The passing of Robert J. Raymond has been deeply
8 felt by many, especially his wife of 66 years, Mae (Roche); his
9 children, Dolores (Michael) Marusha, Marilynn (Joseph)
10 Vannucci, Barbara (Thomas) Jansz, James Raymond, and Robert
11 Raymond Jr.; his grandchildren, Nancy Creel, Sue Bentlage, Mary
12 Pat Martin, Katie and Molly Vannucci, and James Raymond Jr.;
13 and his seven great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
14     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
15 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
16 Robert J. Raymond, and we extend our sincere condolences to his
17 family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
18 further
 
19     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20 presented his family as an expression of our deepest sympathy.