'Ray the barber' a Barrington fixture for 50 years

A longtime Barrington barber, whose one-man shop helped reinforce the village's small town feel, has passed away.

Ray Tourville was known throughout the Barrington area simply as "Ray the barber" for nearly 50 years. He drew generations of families to his chair, for everything from companionship and advice, to a child's first haircut.

Mr. Tourville passed away March 25 from kidney failure. He was 79.

"Children were his favorite," says his daughter, Cindy Emling. "He loved to give them their first haircut and then would present them with a 'certificate of manhood.'"

Rick Delisle of North Barrington was one of many longtime customers who spoke at Mr. Tourville's memorial service on Tuesday. He reflected fondly on how they would compare books, talk about life lessons and trade funny stories during visits.

"I will truly miss Ray," Delisle said in an online tribute. "He put a smile on my face every single time I saw him."

Another longtime customer, Sam Darre of Barrington, commented on Mr. Tourville's love of reading.

"He loved all kinds of books, from history to classical," Darre said. "I liked to read too and when I'd come in, we'd have our own little book club. I'll really miss that."

Mr. Tourville grew up in the small town of Sullivan, Mo., where he later married his high school sweetheart, Marlene. He served in the Air Force during the Korean conflict and attended barber school in Chicago on the G.I. Bill.

"He looked around for something he could do to support his family," his daughter adds, noting the first of his four children, her brother, Rick, already had arrived in 1952.

Mr. Tourville cut hair for the first few years in a shop on Main Street before saving enough money to open his own shop on Cook Street, where he eventually bought the building.

From 1961 to 2000, Mr. Tourville ran his shop, working long hours to accommodate the different schedules of his customers, before a serious heart condition sidelined him for more than a year.

He returned to a limited schedule after that before finally hanging up his clippers in 2005.

In his spare time, Mr. Tourville umpired for the Barrington Youth Baseball organization and supported many of the teams' fundraisers. He also was chaplain of American Legion Post 158 in Barrington, most often visiting with homebound veterans.

"Visiting with them and hearing their stories was something that came natural to him," Emling adds.

While Mr. Tourville was a sole proprietor during his career and never had much time for local business events, his name came up at this week's Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce directors' meeting.

"He was very well known in the community," President Janet Meyer says, "and thought of as a man of great integrity."

Besides his daughter, Mr. Tourville is survived by his wife of 60 years, Marlene, as well as daughters Kim (Jakob) Kubler, Wendy (Sam) Napoleon and Connie; and nine grandchildren.