OUR MEMBERS

OUR MEMBERS ARCHIVE

Mr. Ray Lee

Born in 1924, Ray Lee was brought up during the hay day of the Banjo, and so it is quite proper for him to enjoy and play the same music he heard as a child. He started taking banjo lessons at age 9 but after two years he quit. Ray finished grammar school, high school and shortly thereafter entered the US Army. He served in the European Theater and spent most of his time in England, France, Belgium, and Germany. He was discharged in 1946 and went to college on the GI Bill getting his education in Drafting and Chemical operations.

Ray moved from Connecticut to a little colder climate, in New Hampshire, there he retired in 1983 and married Gladys. At some point in Time Ray and Gladys decided that shoveling snow and scraping ice off the windshield was getting a little tiring and they started wintering in Florida. Like so many members of the Gulf Coast Banjo Society, Ray waited till he retired to pick up the banjo again. During his time in New Hampshire he joined the Green Mountain Banjo Band and the New England Banjo Society, where he still plays now during the summer months.

During his winter stays in Englewood, Fl., Ray yearned to play the banjo again with a band, and joined the Gulf Coast Banjo society in 1993 or 1994; he also joined the Sahib Banjo band of Sarasota and plays there to this day. Ray has a front row seat with the Gulf Coast Banjo Society and is a lead player both here and with the Sahib band. During his tenure with the Gulf Coast Banjo Society he served as Vice President for 2 or 3 years and then as President for about 6 years. As President he was responsible for getting the band new shirts, jackets, and chairs for all the members. He organized the Christmas Parties, and with the help of Bud Lambert and Russ Morton he fixed up the lockers at Snook Haven for the storage of some of our equipment.

The members of the Gulf Coast Banjo Society would like to take this opportunity to thank Ray for his dedication and accomplishments.