Victor Raab

Victor Raab, 99. Loving father of Joanne (Keith) Roberts and Barbara (Mark) Resnik. Proud grandfather of Michelle Baldwin, Kevin (Whitney Rainwater) Roberts, Steven (Jenny), Felice (Alex Verbny), and Lori (Greg Klein) Resnik. Caring great grandfather of Gavin and Max Baldwin. Beloved partner of 37 years to Delora Shapiro and her family. Cherished “Uncle Vic” to Lynne (Julian), Gary (Barbie), and many cousins.

Victor was born in Austria on July 14, 1923 to Jeno and Jolan Raab and older sister Marta. They lived in a beautiful apartment in Vienna and spent their summers vacationing with family in Hungary. When Victor was 14, Austria was taken by the Nazis, forcing him and his family to look for ways to leave their home. Almost two years later Victor left Vienna by taking a Kindertransport to London. In time, he and the members of his immediate family were able to successfully immigrate to Chicago, but shortly afterward, Victor was drafted by the American Army. Due to his intelligence, multiple languages, and being in the right place at the right time, Victor was recruited to join the Army Counter Intelligence Corps. As such, among many other compelling war experiences, he was one of the first people to enter and liberate a concentration camp. The memories of those horrific images never left him and caused him to wait until late in his life to share his story. At the end of the war, Victor was tasked with bringing prisoners to the Neuremburg trials, but all the while he searched for lost members of his family. Unfortunately he was largely unsuccessful. Honorably discharged after his army career, Victor settled back in Chicago where he got married and had two daughters, Joanne and Barbara. Along with partner Hank Schwab, he built the Home and Automobile Insurance Company from the ground up. Hugely successful, he sold the company to Warren Buffett in 1972. Along with his daughters and much loved son in laws, he has five grandchildren and two great grandchildren who he loved to spoil and was ever present in their lives despite living so far away. He visited Chicago and Milwaukee often when his grandkids were young and also loved taking group trips. The joy and pride he showed in his family was always obvious and his loss leaves behind a big hole for all who loved him. A highlight of his later years were the joyous family reunion style birthday parties we would have at various resorts. Not only was it an excuse to all join together for fun, it also gave everyone a chance to cater to a man who usually spent his time catering to others.

Retirement treated Victor well as he relished the time he had for joyful leisure. He particularly enjoyed traveling and making the most out of every day. He was very active, swimming and playing tennis daily. It was while playing tennis in 1986 where he met Delora, the woman who stole his heart. He spent his remaining years by her side and became a part of the Shapiro family, forming close relationships with Delora’s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. While we are overwhelmed with sadness at the prospect of living our lives without him, we are proud of the life he lived and grateful we got to have him with us for so long. He lived a long meaningful life that held the most extreme of highs and lows. He had a magnetic personality that made everyone feel special and will live in our hearts forever. We would like to express our gratitude to his devoted caregiver Godeline.

Funeral service Monday, March 13, 10:30 AM CST, (11:30 EST) at Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd, Wilmette. Interment Oakridge Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Kindertransport Association, www.kindertransport.org, or the Honor Flight Network, www.honorflight.org.