DATELINE: ASSUMPTION

Willard Maurice Raymond, 84, of Effingham, formerly of Assumption, went to be with the Lord on Monday, December 30, 2013, at Lakeland Rehabilitation & Health Care Center in Effingham.
Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, January 3, 2014 at Seitz Funeral Home in Assumption. The funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, at Fame Church in rural Moweaqua.
Burial will be in Pleasant View Cemetery in Assumption.
Arrangements were handled by Seitz Funeral Home in Assumption.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Fame Church.
Online condolences may be left at www.seitzfh.com.
Willard – or Ray as he was known to his family and friends – was born July 12, 1929, in Reedsport, Oregon, the son of Clayton and Bessie Raymond. He married Evelyn Jean Morrison on December 14, 1952. She preceded him in death in March 2010.
Ray was a 1947 graduate of Reedsport High School. He served in the Air Force and then worked at Rand McNally in Decatur before purchasing the Prairie State Tribune in
Assumption in May 1959. He later purchased the Moweaqua News and Macon News and eventually consolidated them into one publication – the Golden Prairie News. He sold the business and retired in May 2011.
Ray was a member of Fame Church for more than 50 years.
Survivors include his children, Steve (Ruth) Raymond, of Effingham; Denise (Gene) Rightnowar, of Whitehall, PA; and Jeff (Deborah) Raymond, of Warsaw, IN; one sister, Doris Sayles, of Albany, OR; grandchildren, Kelly Upp, of Bloomington; Clay (Lauren) Raymond, of Peoria; Holly (George) Johnson, of Papillion, NE; Caleb Rightnowar, of Ft. Detrick, MD; Hillary (Matt) Perry, of Papillion, NE; and Elijah Raymond, of Warsaw, IN; and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Evelyn; five brothers and two sisters.