Obituary

Raymond Oncken died with his family at his side at 10:25 a.m. on Friday (Sept. 29, 2017) at the Waterford Bridle Brook Assisted Living Center in Mahomet. He was 76 years old.

Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Minonk. Father Patrick Greenough, OFM Conv. officiating. Burial will follow at St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery. A visitation will be held beginning at 9:30 a.m. prior to the service.

Memorials may be made to the Minonk Ambulance Squad or Minonk Fire Department.

Calvert-Johnson & Froelich Memorial Home, Minonk, is assisting the family with arrangements.

Raymond was born July 16, 1941 in Streator, the son of John R. Oncken and Myrtle E. Barnes Oncken. He was a lifelong farmer, mechanic, collector, weather enthusiast, ice cream aficionado, lover of Mona's fried chicken, Mom's homemade applesauce, and 3 o'clock coffee and cookies.

Raymond was proud and happiest when he was working the Walnut Grove family farm which was his lifelong joy and was part-owner of Case IH Minonk Equipment Sales. He was a collector of buttons, pins, knives, belt buckles, and farm toys. He loved to speculate about the weather. Raymond enjoyed traveling with his family; Florida, French Lick, Ind., Las Vegas, England and Ireland were his favorite locales. He kept track of his nieces and nephews and their children and was ever inquisitive of the goings on in their lives. We will miss hearing him ask "What's the weather there" and "How much rain'd you get"? Ray was always ready to lend a hand to his family and community.

Surviving are two siblings, Gene (Sharon) Oncken and Jane (Joseph) Smith; nieces and nephews, Jason (Kim) Smith, Kathryn (Michael) Graham, Jennifer (Andrew) Wagner, Angela (Marcellus Rolle) Oncken, Kristina (Mark) Oncken-Cortez, and Andrew (Marci) Oncken; great-nieces and nephews, Harrison and Elizabeth Smith; Emma, Megan, James, and Anna Graham; Alexandria, John, Benjamin, and Henry Wagner; Madeleine and Charlotte Cortez; and Christian, Logan and Savannah Oncken.

Raymond was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Robert H. Oncken.

He was a lifelong member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Minonk where he was a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus, member of Council 985 and he was a member of the La Salle County Farm Bureau for many years.

Raymond was a wonderful brother, brother-in-law, uncle, and great-uncle and will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and neighbors.

The family would like to express their sincere thanks to Sara Dix, Raymond's devoted care giver and Kelsey Baker along with the staff of the Waterford at Bridle Brook.