Raymond Eugene Willis (August 11, 1875March 21, 1956) was a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Born in Waterloo, Indiana, he attended the public schools and graduated from

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

in 1896. He learned the printer's trade in Waterloo and moved to Angola, Indiana, and engaged in the newspaper publishing business in 1898. He was

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Angola from 1910 to 1914 and during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served as chairman of Steuben County Council of Defense, 1917-1918. From 1918 to 1922, Willis was a member of the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. Senate in 1938, losing to moderate incumbent Democrat Frederick Van Nuys by about 5,100 votes; he was elected as a Republican to the Senate in 1940, narrowly unseating Democratic Sherman Minton, and served from January 3, 1941, to January 3, 1947. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1946 and resumed the publishing business as president of the Steuben Printing Co., and was also trustee of Tri-State University at Angola. He died in Angola in 1956; interment was in Circle Hill Cemetery.

References

External links

Raymond E Willis papers
Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Raymond 1875 births 1956 deaths Republican Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives Trine University people Wabash College alumni Republican Party United States senators from Indiana People from DeKalb County, Indiana People from Angola, Indiana Indiana postmasters Phi Delta Theta members 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly