Raymond Earl Vetter

Princeton - Raymond Earl Vetter, 103, passed away on Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at Liberty Village in Princeton, IL. A visitation will be held on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Princeton, IL from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Services to follow on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at the Evangelical Covenant Church at 12:00 p.m. Officiated by Pastor Derek C. Boggs. Graveside services to follow at Oakland Cemetery with a word of comfort and prayer for the family and friends from Pastor Derek C. Boggs. Military Rites Accorded. Born in Chicago on November 22, 1920 to Herbert and Ruth (Engberg) Vetter. As a boy, Ray sold newspapers outside Wrigley Field and knew many of the Cubs baseball players. A free-range kid, he and one of his brothers stumbled across the aftermath of the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Another time he witnessed the gangster Al Capone drive out of an alley in a big black car. Ray's mother passed away in 1931, and ten-year-old Ray and two of his brothers came to live at the Covenant Children's Home in Princeton. He graduated from Princeton High School, Class of 1939. Upon graduation he went into the sheet metal trade. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he traveled to Chicago to enlist in the United States Navy. The recruiter turned him away because he was too short. Undeterred, he went back day after day until, finally, on day four, the officer told him to stand on his tiptoes and stretch. He did, and the officer said, "You're in!" Ray spent the war years in Cuba and Key West, Florida, in a unit that guarded the coast from German submarines. While home on leave, he married his sweetheart, Ruth, another "Home Kid." Together they raised three children of their own while taking in foster babies awaiting adoption through the Children's Home. The owner of Vetter Sheet Metal, Ray was also active in the Covenant Church and a long-time member and past president of the Optimist Club. After retirement, he and Ruth traveled the world together. Ray is survived by two daughters, Pamela (Douglas) Houskeeper of Milford, PA and Deborah (Rick Ladenburger) Vetter of Princeton; a sister, Vivian Anderson of Crystal Lake, IL; three granddaughters, Linnea, Amber and Heather; a great granddaughter Natasha and numerous nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his wife Ruth Vetter, one son, Raymond Earl Vetter, Jr. as well as four of his five siblings. Memorials may be directed to the Evangelical Covenant Church's Capital Campaign Building Fund or BPART. Online condolences may be directed to www.norbergfh.com. Arrangements by Norberg Memorial Home, Inc. & Monuments.

Raymond Earl Vetter

November 22, 1920 - January 2, 2024