THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1980
THIS IS A MEMORIAL WEBSITE. THE OBITUARY REPLICATED ON THIS PAGE IS FROM THE FAMILY'S MEMENTOES.

Ray Garrett, Jr., lawyer, former SEC chief, dies

Services for Ray Garrett Jr., 59, a senior partner in the Chicago law firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas and a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, will be held at 3 pm Wednesday in Christ Church, 784 Sheridan, Winnetka.

Burial will be in Memorial Park, Skokie.

Mr. Garrett, a resident of Winnetka, died Sunday in Evanston Hospital.

He was a teaching fellow at Harvard Law School for a year after his graduation in 1949, then served for two years as an assistant professor of law at New York University School of Law before joining Gardner, Carton & Douglas in 1952.

In 1954, he joined the staff of the SEC in Washington for a four-year stint before returning to the Chicago law firm.

He was named chairman of the SEC -- its reputation having been tarnished during the Watergate scandal -- by President Nixon in August, 1973. He served until October, 1975, when he rejoined Gardner, C & D as a partner.

Most notable among the actions the SEC took under his leadership was to abolish fixed brokerage commission rates. It also moved to tighten government control over the stock exchanges and toward an electronic nationwide securities market.

He was a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Law Club of Chicago and various social clubs.

Survivors include his wife, Virginia; three daughters, Nancy Worcester, Susan Dunn and Anne Burfield; a son, Richard, and two sisters, Glenn Lindgren and Martha Benson.

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