Raleigh Mathis, 79, a former deputy superintendent for the Chicago Police Department known for his courtesy and high standards, died of heart failure Tuesday, Sept. 25, in Roseland Community Hospital.
Mr. Mathis, a lifelong South Side resident, joined the Chicago Park District Police in 1953. He became a Chicago police officer when the departments merged in the early 1960s and rose steadily through the ranks, reaching the post of commander in the Grand Crossing District in 1972.
Under his leadership, the district’s crime rate plummeted, and in 1978 he was promoted to deputy superintendent of community services. Two years later, he was one of three finalists for the new Chicago police superintendent. He retired after another candidate was chosen.
But Mr. Mathis’ retirement was short-lived. He was appointed to the board of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, served as a consultant on police matters to the city of Omaha, and in 1985 returned to work for Chicago as commissioner of the Department of Inspectional Services, said his wife, Grace.
He later became general manager of field operations at O’Hare International Airport and managed the security and police operations of the Chicago Transit Authority before he retired from public service in 1993.
Former Chicago Police Supt. Leroy Martin, who befriended Mr. Mathis early in their careers, said Mr. Mathis occasionally would chastise officers who were discourteous.
“His sense of fairness was so broad that any officer that worked with him or for him had to admire his sense of fairness and his sense of duty,” Martin said. “Long before I became superintendent, he was an individual I wanted to be like.”
Mr. Mathis was loved to read and travel.
Other survivors include three sons, Alan, Blair and Michael; and two granddaughters.
Visitation will be from noon to 8 p.m. Monday and 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday in Cage Memorial Chapel, 7651 S. Jeffery Blvd. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the chapel.
