Rakow matriarch loved family and community
The backbone and matriarch of the prominent Rakow family of Dundee Township will be remembered for her determination, love for her family and pride in the community where she spent her life.
Erma Rakow died Jan. 27 at the age of 101 in the home she built with her husband in East Dundee.
Born in 1910 in West Dundee, Erma Rakow helped her husband, Leonard Rakow, establish the family’s wholesale food business and later a furniture store, Rakow’s Town and Country Furniture, in the heart of downtown East Dundee. Her son, Eugene Rakow, and grandson, Mark Rakow, served as fire chiefs with the East Dundee Fire Protection District. In addition, Erma Rakow was a member of the First Congregational Church of West Dundee for 85 years.
“There are so many fond memories, but she just loved the town and was so proud to live in East Dundee,” Mark Rakow said. “When my grandfather was alive they would go for a drive around town and visit their favorite spots. Her favorite spot was the Carpentersville dam.”
Craig Rakow called his mother “the glue that held the family together.”
“She was a lovely, sweet woman who was very family-minded,” Craig Rakow said. “She enjoyed her children, grand, great and great-great grandchildren more than anything.”
Kristi DeSantis, Erma Rakow’s eldest grandchild, said her grandmother was determined to reach 100 years of age. Not even a diagnosis of colon cancer at 91 could slow her down, DeSantis said.
“We took her to Mayo Clinic and the doctors looked at her like, ‘What are you doing here? You’re 91 years old,’” DeSantis said. “But 24 hours later she was strolling down the hall putting makeup on. Nothing ever stopped her.”
Erma Rakow leaves behind 13 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren and 17 great-great grandchildren.
A memorial funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at First Congregational Church, 900 S. Eighth St. (Route 31), West Dundee, where the family will be receiving friends from 1 p.m. until the time of the service. A private family burial will be in Dundee Township East Cemetery, East Dundee. In lieu of flowers, memorials in honor of Erma may be given to the Care Ministry of the First Congregational Church of West Dundee.