• The following is part of an ongoing series of articles in celebration of Libertyville High School's 100th anniversary.

Henry Underbrink was principal of Libertyville Township High School for 1918, the first of his 32 years in this role. When he was drafted into World War I, the LTHS school board sought out a suitable replacement and found one in Diamond Lake native Lloyd C. Ray.

Ray attended and graduated from Highland Park High School in 1909 before LTHS was established. At the time, he joined LTHS as principal, he had been teaching in Davenport, Iowa.

He would be LTHS's principal for four years. The first three years, he was also LTHS's first football coach. His top season was the fall of 1919 when led by future Chicago Bear Jim McMillan; the team finished with a 6-1 record.

Ray built a home at 411 W. Park Ave. Stepping out his front door and crossing the street would take him right into the south entrance of the Brainerd Building.

After the war, the school board decided to rehire Underbrink as principal. Ray then began a real estate and insurance business and was active in civic matters. He was on the Libertyville Zoning Board, involved with the Lions Club, and the Libertyville-Mundelein Historical Society. He was asked back to lead cheers for several LTHS homecoming pep rallies in the 1920s.

Ray had two sons and four grandchildren, all LTHS grads. His oldest son, George, however, attended Deerfield-Shields High School, graduating in 1932. At the time LTHS did not have calculus; Deerfield-Shields did. So he went around the corner to the Old North Shore railroad station and rode the train to school every day. It paid off in that George earned a scholarship to MIT and became an aeronautical engineer.

Ray's second son, Russell, began at Deerfield-Shields. But in the height of the depression, coming up with the tuition wasn't feasible, and Russell spent the next three years at LTHS, graduating in 1935. Ray's youngest son James graduated from LTHS in 1937, finishing as the class salutatorian. At age 97 and living in Lake Forest, he is one of LHS's oldest living alums.

One thing Ray's sons were talented at was track, especially high jumping. George won the state high jump title in 1932. Russell won several high jump honors and competed for Northwestern University. James placed fourth in the state in 1937 and competed for the University of Chicago.

After getting out of the service following World War II, Russell and James began working for their father's insurance and real estate agency, now Lloyd C. Ray and Sons. Russell eventually became a lawyer.

James had a son, Robert, a 1967 LHS graduate. He broke with family tradition and only ran track for two years. James' daughter, Peg, would have loved a chance to be in athletics, but was a 1971 grad and missed Title IX by two years. George had two daughters that graduated from LHS: Liz (1974) and Nancy (1980).