In the wee hours today, July 24, Ray Cheely succumbed to his battle with cancer.

Ray was a gentleman and a scholar in the truest sense. His love for fine S&W's and his knowledge of them were well known in the collector fraternity.

His vision and and foresight in establishing the S&W Historical Foundation leaves a legacy that future generations of S&W collectors and scholars yet unborn will benefit greatly from.

He will be sorely missed.
Our sincere condolences to Sheryl and all the family.


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7-30-09 EDIT-
Sheryl sent me this memorial flyer for Ray.

CLICK the Link:


http://smith-wessonforum.com/Remembering_Ray.pdf

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Yes, condolences to his family. Thanks for letting us know.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

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U.S. Army Viet Nam Vet '68-69'

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family

Lee,

Sorry for the loss of your friend...

Prayers sent for the family.


giz

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Non gratum anus rodentum

Ray cared deeply about the S&WCA and the S&WHF. He was instrumental in putting the S&WCA on a solid financial footing and played a significant role in molding it into the organization it is today. He and Sheryl founded the S&WHF in order to ensure that S&W firearms would be documented for collectors (us) in the future. When he and I talked about this, he often said, "If we don't do this now, who will do it in the future". Myself, and many others are committed to making his dream a reality.

I will miss him.

Bill Cross
President, S&WCA
Vice Chairman, S&WHF

lee I am sorry for your loss and I am sure through his contibutions he will not be forgotten

This is a tremendous loss. Ray was a gentleman of the highest order, in the few times we met or spoke he was very gracious and helpful with all things S&W and his contributions to the S&W collector community are truly appreciated.

My prayers go out to his family.

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.............SmithNut

As a relative new guy in the S&W world, I never had a chance to meet Ray. But I sure feel as though I know him based on his work in the Collectors Association and the Foundation.

My condolences to family and friends. Clearly his efforts helped make the close-knit world of S&W enthusiasts as respected, honored and productive as it is today.

David Wilson

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David Wilson

My condolences to his family and friends.

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Lynnie, Professional Pest

Ray was a true gentleman. The few times I chatted with him he was always warm, friendly, and willing to share his wealth of knowledge with a newcomer to the S&WCA.
We are diminished by his passing.

RIP, Ray.

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John

I am always sorry to hear of someones passing, especially so for their loved ones left behind. My prayers go up for his family and their comfort in this difficult time.

Thank you for letting us know Lee.

My thought are with the family in this time of need
Chuck

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On The Santa Fe Trail

My condolences to the Cheely family.

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Sure you did

My prayers to the family.

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Misty

I lost a very good friend this morning. I will miss him.

However, I know that my sadness is insignificant compared with the loss felt by his wife Sheryl, his mother and the rest of his family. My thoughts are with them this evening and the gap that Ray's death will leave in their lives.

Ray was one of life's gentlemen, always willing to help others, to share his enormous knowledge and experience. I believe his skills were fundamental to the current financial stability of the S&WCA. His legacy to us is the recently created S&WHF and I join with Bill Cross in committing to its future success.

Rest in peace old son.

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Dave Ballantyne

Ray was a fine gentleman, and a really nice and helpful guy.
Many S&WCA members belong and post here, so I would suggest the following:
If you've been meaning to join the Foundation but haven't had the opportunity, why not make the effort NOW, in remembrance of this wonderful man's vision to preserve our hobby.
Don

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OGCA Life
NRA Life

When I first met Ray, I noticed he had a sparkle in his eyes. I don't know if he wore contacts, but that would not fully account for it. There was simply a brightness on his face.
He had a quick wit, and it was easy to feel he was mentally two or three thoughts ahead in the conversation going on.
Wonderfully articulate, he still spoke slowly and thoughtfully in a laid back style that was very easy to be comfortable around. His words were chosen, and I always felt Ray had said no more and no less than he meant to. Very intelligent, I felt he would have been equally "at home" making a presentation in a Wall Street boardroom or jiving with the boys in a juke joint.
I can count Ray as a friend- I think he liked me as much as I liked him. I had always looked forward to getting to know him better, but the business of life and geography limited our contact to a few shows per year. I counted on the future to provide more plentiful opportunities for us to interact. So much for the best laid plans of mice and men.

Hemingway quotes part of Donne's prose as the preamble to For Whom the Bell Tolls:

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

My condolences to his Friends and Family. RIP

My thoughts and prayers are with his family & friends.

Jerry

Never met the man but heard a lot of good things about him. All of us that collect and love Smith & Wesson own him a debt of gratitude…

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John
S&WCA Life Member

I am not sure that I can add much more than Lee has all ready written. Ray WAS a true gentleman and will be sadly missed.

Should you wish to pay tribute to this wonderful man, I suggest that you send a donation to the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation. I know times are tough, but even $10 sent by every member of this forum would go a long way to preserving the records that Ray worked so hard to protect and make available to everyone. I spend that on coffee in just one week. Think about it.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Sorry to hear that. Condolences to family and friends.

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I am very sorry to hear about Ray's passing. I just now read it and very much regret that I never had the chance to meet him. My sincere condolences to his family.

Roger Epperson

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Eph 2:8-9

My condolences to his family.

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S&WCA # 2045

Ray was a cornerstone of the SWCA. He was one of those quiet individuals who was instantly respected and listened to. His guidance to the Association and friendship to all of us as collectors will always be remembered.

My thoughts and condolences to you and the family, Sheryl.

Bob

Prayers for and condolences to the family.

Condolences to his family and friends.

Ken

The SWCA and each of us lost a good friend. I always enjoyed my dealings with him, he was a gentleman of the first order.

Hello Lee
Congratulations on the Birth of Your New Granddaughter. I had a chance to meet & get to know Ray's Brother Ken & His Wife Virginia this year at the Annual S&WCA Meeting in The Hospitality suite. We spoke of Ken's Brother's illness and how he wanted his Registered Magnum on display with Other members at the meeting as Ken Honored his wish's in doing so. In speaking with Ken, we got into a lengthly Conversation about The K-32 Masterpiece, and Ken was fascinated at how a Younger collecto like myself, could have such a fondness for the .32 &W Long Caliber and the revolver designed to fire it. This conversation triggered Ken, to Bring up how him and Ray used to Knock off Woodchucks around the Family Farm in Kansas with the K-32's and he had a certain Glow in his face as he reflected back on a Younger Life, it was evident to me how much Love there was between these Two Brothers as I Noticed the emotional Impact that was evident in Ken's Talk, and Facial expressions as he spoke about Ray. I can only Imagine how Heart broke Ken is with The passing of his Brother of who he Loved & worshipped the Very ground he walked on. I was very glad to get to Know Ken & His wife Better while at the meeting, as it was evident to me, he wanted to share some thought's and stories about his Younger Life with his brother, who could not attend the meeting, and I was only too glad to Listen to them. My Thought's and Prayers go out to the Cheely Family at this difficult time, May he Rest in Peace. Regards, Hammerdown.

Guys, thanks so much for all the kind words. Ray is at peace and no longer in pain.

Here is the announcement from Roy that was published on the SWCA forum, forwarded with his permission.

[swcaforum] Sad News‏
From: [email protected] on behalf of Roy Jinks
Sent: Fri 7/24/09 7:51 AM
To: [email protected]


It is with great sadness that I inform the members that our Treasurer Mr. Ray Cheely has lost his battle against cancer. Ray passed away last night. The good thing is that his suffering is over and he can now rest in peace. We all send our sympathy and support to Sheryl she help Ray put up a great fight.

The loss of Ray is a great loss to our association. Ray gave so much to our group and managed it from an struggling Collectors Association to one that provide for the care of the Smith & Wesson records and collection. Ray & Sheryl long term interest was the help preserve the heritage of Smith & Wesson's history in an effort to guarantee that it would be available to all collectors in the future. Their establishment of the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation was a giant step in that direction. Ray's guidance will truly be missed. He was a Giant of a Man in helping our group and all future Smith & Wesson Collectors. It is tough to put in words what you feel when you loss a great friend, a person who gave unselfishly to our Association. All we can say is Ray Rest In Peace, your fight is over, but you have won some battles and we will all help to see that your goals are completed here on earth. Roy G. Jinks, Chairman, Smith & Wesson Collectors Association




Ray's obit can be seen at Bryant Funeral Home and Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home : Great Bend, Kansas (KS)

My heart is absolutely in a million pieces, but next year, God willing, I will do the display that he was to put together for this year's Troy meeting, to showcase his registered mags, as a tribute to the finest man I ever knew.

Thank you, again, all for the kind words. Memorials will all go to the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation to preserve the history he loved so very much. (They are being channelled thru our local community foundation)

Sheryl

Sheryl, God bless you and your family at this time. Like many of us who've gone down the road you are on right now, be assured there are good days to come. You and Ray were the very first friendly faces to greet me at my first SWCA meeting in Minneapolis and I spent quite a bit of time over the next days talking S&W 44 Mags with Ray. He was and will remain one of the icons of our group. And, he'd be the first to admit and I remember him doing so, that Ray Cheely the man was due to Sheryl. You did him proud in life and you'll continue until you two are together again. I was just thinking that I'll bet Ray, Bill and Gary are having a great reunion right now and are still probably arguing over Reg Mags,and for one, I'll be happy to see all of them again some day.
Be strong
Chuck

Ray Cheely honored me with his generous mentoring, quite, deliberate, and exacting, He amazed me with his discoveries and his willingness to share his knowledge with the rest of the collecting community. While his life was cut short his legacy will endure and we will continue to benefit from his time on earth. He is one of my life-heroes and I am proud to have received his council and to have learned so much from him. We all have regrets and one of mine now is that I never made it to Tulsa and to visit with Ray and Sheryl. My deepest sympathies to Sheryl, Ken, Virginia, Ruth and Karen and the rest of the circle of family and friends of Ray Cheely.

Rex

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Duc sequere aut de via decede

my condolences and prayers go out to all

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

I was surprised and honored today with the attendence from so many of our dear SWCA friends at Ray's funeral. They came from VA, AL, WS, OK, CO, MO, AR. Thank you Jim, David, Chuck & Debby, Ray B, Mike & Janice, Dick & Joyce and Gary. Ray would have been honored. Those of you who were there in spirit I appreciate it as well. I love you all.

Sheryl

My condolences to his family and friends.

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Aaron Terry

Sheryl,
If we weren't here in Texas, Julie and i would have come to pay our respects to Ray today. Know that you and your family were in our thoughts and prayers today as you have been throughout this ordeal. I will have all the memories of our times together in Tulsa but we will all miss him. God bless you and your family.
Bill and Julie Patteson

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38-44heavyduty.com

We were in Kansas and Missouri the last 8 days with no internet time, thus the delay in my posting here.

Ray and I became friends in late 1983, meeting by phone in the early days of our being new members of the SWCA. To say that we became very close over the years is, at the least, a "ginormous" (Hunter and Chancey's word for large-huge-gigantic) understatement. We were tight, even when we disagreed.

From our first joint-venture - a 1985 trip to Ft. Lauderdale to buy 21 Reg. and Non-Reg. Magnum's from a collector / dealer - until last Wed. and Thurs. when I sat by his bedside and held his hand (yep, grown men who love and respect one another DO hold hands, even a pair of 56-yr. old gun crazy men-boys like us) as we shared, with almost no words spoken, the moments of our last times together, we were bonded to one another in an enduring and mutually gratifying friendship.

The comments so many here have already made detail Ray's generous contributions of his time and money, knowledge and expertise to the S&W collecting fraternity at large, and numerous of our members in particular. I won't attempt to add along those lines, this computer would likely wear out before I could type all that my heart holds at this moment.

For a motor-mouth like me it's tough sometimes to keep it as "cut'n dried" as Ray would have wanted. That said, as straightforward as I know how to say it, the following words apply:
Ray Cheely was a collector's collector, a Mopar guy's Mopar guy, a leader's leader, a friend's friend and a man's man in every sense of the word. What an amazing life led, what an example set before our very eyes. An example to try to follow every day...


To Sheryl, Ken, Ruth and all the Cheely family, my heartfelt thanks to each of you for the warm welcome and gracious honor extended to me during my visits last week and at the funeral. In condolence RaeAnn and I offer our love and always to-be-continued friendship.


David Carroll
Clay, Alabama

SWCA Life Member
SWHF Benefactor

I was greatly saddened to learn of Ray's passing. Ray and Sheryl were a familiar fixture at the SWCA meetings and their unselfish dedication to the group and all S&W collectors is keenly appreciated. Ray's drive and dedication to the SWHF will be one of his enduring legacies and will benefit collectors for generations to come. Sheryl, thank you sharing your husband with us, we are the better for it.

David, I am very moved by your post and am sure you were a great comfort to Ray and his family. When little else could be done your sitting with Ray at the end surely eased his burden and brought him a measure of peace. I admire and thank you for it. John SWCA#1586

Sheryl sent me this memorial flyer for Ray.

CLICK the Link:


http://smith-wessonforum.com/Remembering_Ray.pdf

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett