| Raleigh Jessup |
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 Raleigh
Jessup, Board Member and pre-eminent citizen of the City of O'Fallon,
passed away on January 9, 2009 at the age of eighty-six. Known as both
"Mr. O'Fallon" and "Mr. History," Raleigh will long be remembered for
his service to the community he adopted when he and his wife, Betty,
moved to O'Fallon in 1947.
Raleigh's passion for the preservation of O'Fallon's history began with his involvement in the city's Centennial celebration in 1956. In 1974, he was principal in the founding of the O'Fallon Historical Society and for the next few years worked side by side with Bill Westhoff in moving a log home located at the corner of Hwy K and Veteran's Memorial Parkway to a new location in Civic Park to become the organization's headquarters. In 1973 Raleigh was elected to the Board of Alderman and served a total of ten years, though he will most often be remembered for his continued efforts toward the reconstruction of Jacob Zumwalt's homestead fort. In the late 1980s, Raleigh used a portion of the last remaining log to construct a scale model of the Fort and hundreds of area school children were introduced to their community's history as Raleigh visited classrooms and scout groups. His passion for the fort stems in part from his dedication to his church. Cornerstone United Methodist Church is the fourth generation congregation of the Mount Zion Society that started in Jacob's log home. Everyone who was blessed to work with Raleigh had a deep appreciation for his conciliatory nature, his earnest desire for people to work--and disagree--respectfully, his ability to preserve history while keeping an eye on the city's future. Even in adversity, he remained grateful for the blessings and opportunities offered by his country and city. We will miss him greatly. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Betty, and we at the Foundation wish to extend our heartfelt sympathies to their three children; sons Ken and David, and daughter, Shirley and their families. |
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