Raymond Rockenbach

Raymond Rockenbach of Grayslake Funeral services for Raymond Rockenbach, 89, will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, at the United Protestant Church, 54 Whitney St., Grayslake. Born Feb. 15, 1914, on the family farm in Prairie View, Ill., the son of Almon and Elizabeth (nee Catlow) Rockenbach, the seventh of fourteen children, he passed away Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003, at his home. Interment will be private. At the age of 12, Raymond moved to Crystal Lake, where he later graduated from Crystal Lake High School. He was employed by US Steel, Cyclone Fencing Division, prior to opening Rockenbach Hardware in the early 1950s, in downtown Grayslake. He moved to Pennsylvania in 1964, where he was a sales representative for Sellstrom Manufacturing Inc. In 1968, he returned to Grayslake and reopened Rockenbach Hardware and Decorating. He had a very active retirement. He enjoyed designing, building and driving floats for any parade through downtown Grayslake. He was an avid gardener, belonging to the Grayslake Greenery Garden Club. His family will always treasure the decorative wheelbarrows he crafted. He was a member of the Grayslake Volunteer Fire Department, Grayslake School Board District 46, Grayslake Development Corporation, Lake County Heritage Farm Committee and United Protestant Church. Mr. Rockenbach was past president of the Grayslake Historical Society, past president of the Grayslake area Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scout troop leader and Village of Grayslake trustee. Besides his family and friends, the many children whose lives he had touched over the years will miss Raymond. Survivors include his wife, Charlene Rockenbach [Behrensmeier] (nee Wray); children, Terry (Marge) Rockenbach, Pamela (Charles) Relitz, Dennis (Jean) Rockenbach, Jean Topping, Sally Kelly and Laura Behrensmeier; grandchildren Russell (Lisa), Margaret and Jorie Rockenbach, Paige (Tim) Zimmerman, Todd (Donna) Wellens, Timmothy Wellens, Michelle (Jim) Pelech, Jacquelyn (David) Knoeppel, Carrie (Harry) Waller, Elizabeth, Ellen and Geoffrey Topping, and William and Jennifer Kelly; great-grandchildren, Rebecca Rockenbach, Brandon Zimmerman, Kaitlyn and Zachary Wellens, Peyton Pelech and Laurel Waller; sisters, Mary Knox, Dory Forsythe, Sarah Belcher; and brothers, Rodney, Phil and Lyle Rockenbach; In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Virginia (nee Stiller; sisters, Esther Mills, Ruth O'Hare, Elizabeth Wolf and Shirley Spear; and his brothers, Robert, George and Joseph Rockenbach. Friends of the family may visit from 4 to 8 p.m. today, at the Strang Funeral Chapel & Crematorium, 410 E. Belivdere Road, Grayslake. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Condell Hospice, 115 W. Church St., Libertyville; Foundation Fighting Blindness, P.O. Box 17279, Baltimore MD 21208-7279; or the United Protestant Church of Grayslake. Friends may visit www.dailyherald.com/obits to express condolences and sign the guest book. For funeral information, (847)223-8122.