A “Memorial Benches for Bob Ray” GoFundMe campaign has been launched. The goal is $7,500, for two steel benches and a memorial plaque to be placed in the courtyard around the gazebo on Canal Street.
Ray, the city resident who was well known as the dapper greeter at Historic Palace Theatre, and nicknamed the “Mayor of Canal Street” for his voluntary beautification efforts there, died last month at the age of 74.
“Bob was a beloved community supporter and friend whose kindness touched the lives of many,” campaign organizer David Chatt wrote. “Our community feels a deep loss, and many of us have been searching for a meaningful way to honor his memory and the positive difference he made in our lives.”
A pair of memorial benches in the Canal Street courtyard seems most fitting, considering it’s a place where he spent time almost every day, even in winter, according to Chatt, a longtime volunteer with the Lockport Locks Heritage District.
“If you knew Bob, you knew he was often sitting near the gazebo… with Steamworks coffee and a glass of ice water,” Chatt said in a telephone interview. “Bob spent hours sitting there, just enjoying the flowers. … He was just such a great guy. It was a treat to see and spend time with him there.”
The campaign was launched late last week, and as of midday Monday, $3,800 had been raised.
Chatt said the goal may be lowered somewhat, depending on a firmer estimate of the cost of two steel benches. Already, enough money has been raised for one bench, which Chatt said was his original thought, but he agreed with Mayor John Lombardi’s suggestion of a pair of benches to create symmetry in the courtyard.
Donations will cover the cost of producing and shipping the benches, and a memorial plaque. Lombardi pledged the city will install and secure them in place.
If there’s any money left over, Chatt said, it will be invested in the Canal Street courtyard garden for this year.
Thanks to Ray, who had tended the flower beds each growing season for the past few years, that garden “is a showpiece now,” Chatt said, “180 degrees from what it was 10 years ago.”
Donations can be made online at gofundme.com/f/memorial-benches-for-bob-ray, and by check written out and mailed to David Chatt at 7133 Northledge Drive, Lockport, NY 14094. If donating by check, write “Bob Ray benches” in the subject line.