Ray Chester Obituary, Death – After finding out that Ray Chester had passed away, I couldn’t help but be overcome with a sickening feeling. The news has left me feeling very downtrodden. When Ray was running the guitar program at Peabody, he was the one who was responsible for getting me hired there as a teacher. He was the one who was instrumental in making that happen. I was present throughout his time as head of the guitar department at the institution. I was a student at Peabody alongside Ray during the time that he was serving as head of the guitar department there. Peabody was our high school of choice when Ray and I were both students there.
In later years, when Ray was serving as the head of the guitar department at Peabody, I was a student there alongside him. As a direct result of his leadership, the guitar department was able to achieve a prominent position on a global scale. As a direct result of this, the guitar department was able to attract the highest number of students that it had ever seen at any point in its history. This was the highest number of students that the guitar department had ever seen. Ray was the kind of teacher who took the responsibilities of his job very seriously, and as a result, his influence will continue to be felt in the classrooms of future generations of students despite the fact that he is no longer there.
He appeared to be very enthusiastic about getting started on the process of learning how to play the guitar. During this difficult time, I want his wife Jan and the rest of his family to know that I am thinking about and praying for them. I am keeping each one of them in my thoughts and prayers right now. I am sorry for the loss that has been inflicted upon you. Manuel Barrueco