Raymond Eugene Willis (August 11, 1875March 21, 1956) was a United States senator from Indiana. Born in

Waterloo, Indiana Waterloo is a town in Grant and Smithfield townships, DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,242 at the 2010 census. History Waterloo was laid out in 1856 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was likely named afte ...

, he attended the public schools and graduated from Wabash College 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 he served as chairman of Steuben County Council of Defense, 1917-1918. From 1919 to 1921, 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 memb ...

and was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. Senate in 1938, losing to moderate incumbent Democrat

Frederick Van Nuys Frederick Van Nuys (April 16, 1874 – January 25, 1944) was a United States senator from Indiana. Born in Falmouth, he attended the public schools and graduated from Earlham College ( Richmond, Indiana) in 1898 and from Indiana Law School ...

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 Trine University is a private university in Angola, Indiana. It was founded in 1884 and offers degrees in the arts and sciences, business, education, and engineering. Trine University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History Tri ...

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