Former 1st Source chair Ernestine Raclin dies at 95
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South Bend-based 1st Source Bank announced Thursday that former chairperson Ernestine Raclin has died at the age of 95. Raclin, who led the bank for more than 20 years, is also remembered as a philanthropist and community leader.
Raclin is the youngest daughter of E.M. Morris, who helped organize the merger that created what would become 1st Source Bank in the 1930s, according to the South Bend Tribune.
“Our family is not only grieving the loss of a caring and wonderful mother and grandmother, but also the loss of a mentor, advisor, friend and an endless source of whit, wisdom and love,” Chris Murphy, Raclin’s son-in-law and CEO of 1st Source Corp. “Ernie lived her values publicly; giving to others in many ways, chief among them being volunteer community leadership and leading 1st Source to serve and grow.”
1st Source said Raclin was the first women in the country to chair a local United Way chapter, serve on the United Way of America’s National Board of Governors, serve as a University of Notre Dame trustee, and sit on the boards of 1st National Bank of Chicago, NIPSCO and the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce, among others.
Raclin is also the co-founder of Michiana Public Television Corp. and Stanley Clark School in South Bend.
The South Bend Tribune reports Raclin and her late husband, O.C. Carmichael, were also instrumental in the formation of Indiana University of South Bend, which named its school of the arts after her.
“The IU South Bend community is saddened to learn of Mrs. Raclin’s passing,” IU South Bend Chancellor Susan Elrod said in written remarks. “Her passion for the Arts and its transformative power live on, every day, in the programs we offer in Communication Studies, Fine Arts, Music, Theatre & Dance for our students and our community.”
Visitation is scheduled to take place July 18 from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus. A memorial service will follow at 3:30 p.m.