Former Batavia city attorney was key to city’s development
Francis Youssi may have been Batavia’s city attorney for only nine years, but the impact of his work is still felt today.
“He really was involved in some very key events in the history of our community that I don’t know if they would have gotten as far as they did or would have been accomplished if it were not for his efforts,” Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke said Thursday.
Youssi, 88, died Feb. 16.
He was the city’s attorney from 1955 to 1964. At that time, the city’s western limit was Van Nortwick Avenue. When Batavia High School wanted to build its new facility west of there, Youssi negotiated the acquisition of rights of ways to extend Wilson Street and lay water, sewer and electrical utilities, making the project possible Schielke said.
Youssi did the same to bring an industrial park to the northeast side of Batavia, including working on a deal to get a water tower built and straightening a curve in Kirk Road north of Wilson.
And he worked on the deal with the state to get the western channel of the Fox River put into a pipe, so the Batavia Shopping Plaza shopping center and a hardware store could be built on the site of the former U.S. Wind Energy Co. complex south of Wilson. The shopping center opened in 1962.
“He did a lot of very interesting things that have had some very beneficial effects to Batavia,” Schielke said.
Youssi lived in Batavia 86 years, graduating from Batavia High School in 1941. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II as a gunner, bombardier and navigator. Postwar, he obtained a law degree from DePaul University, then opened a practice in downtown Batavia, with a branch in Aurora. His daughter, Cathy Searl, joined the practice as a partner in 1984.
Youssi was a director for the Batavia Savings and Building Association, a board member of the Tri-City Family Project, and a member of the citizens advisory board for Aurora College (now Aurora University.) He raised money for the Wayside Cross Rescue Mission for 30 years, and served on the Council on Aging. He was a longtime member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Aurora.
Youssi is survived by daughters Debbie Damon and Cathy Searl; three grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a two siblings who died at birth, his parents, an infant grandson and his wife, Fran.
A wake for Youssi will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at Moss Family Funeral Home, 209 S. Batavia Ave. The funeral is at 11 a.m. Saturday at Batavia United Methodist Church, 8 N. Batavia Ave. (Route 31).Memorial gifts may be made to Batavia United Methodist Church, Our Savior Lutheran Church, the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry, and the disabled American veterans.