Raymond “Ray” E. Gillette, 75, died Friday, November 25, 2022 in the Beverly Hospital following a brief illness. He was the beloved husband of Robin A. (Lauranzano) Gillette.

Born in Saugus on October 24, 1947, he was the son of the late Albert and Helen (Young) Gillette. Ray grew up in Lynn and was a graduate of Lynn Classical High School. He has resided in Beverly for the past thirty-nine years. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he was honorably discharged in June 1969.

Ray was employed as the production manager at Crystal Steel Co. in Middleton for over twenty years before his retirement in 2020. He was also once employed at Eagle Can Co. in Peabody for over twenty-eight years.

Ray’s interest in music began in West Lynn, listening to the neighborhood men playing guitar and singing the blues on the stoop of his apartment building. Ray’s talent developed quickly, particularly his singing voice. He began singing with bands at nearby nightclubs whenever he could. When Ray returned from military duty, he joined his brother and friends to form the band “Henry.” Eventually, Ray took a break from performing and decided he would immerse himself in learning advanced guitar methods. He enjoyed several years of private tutoring from a Berkeley School of Music graduate student who drilled him on speed studies and theory. Soon after that, Ray started his own bands, “Nightshift,” then, “RedTape” and developed lifelong friendships with its members. In 1985, Ray found his niche with a local band, and never looked back. “BRMC,” otherwise known as “Boston Rockabilly,” provided Ray the opportunity to play the music he truly loved, 1950’s, Sun Studio music, like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee, Ricky Nelson, and Roy Orbinson. Ray was a purist when it came to covering music demonstrated by his refusal to change the key to any song that he sang, and his guitar leads were perfectly executed. “Boston Rockabilly '' had a wonderful fan base of family and friends who followed the band everywhere. Most notably, “Boston Rockabilly '' (pre-pandemic) often played the Herman A. Spear Post 331 in Beverly, the annual Summer concert at the American Legion in Revere, and the deliciously enjoyable annual Strawberry Festival at Connor Farm in Danvers, where his great niece, Camille, would dance and sing along with him, eventually creating the nickname, Raysin, for him, which forever stuck.

In addition to his wife of thirty-nine years, he is survived by his loving son, Dean T. Gillette of Beverly; two sisters, Patricia and her husband, William Prunier and Diane Nelson; two brothers, Albert Gillette and his partner, Debra Bryant and Paul Gillette and his wife, Phyllis; two brothers-in-law, Christopher and his wife, Katherine Lauranzano and Marc Lauranzano and his husband, Keith Sylvia; two sisters-in-law, Coreen Gillette and Kristine Lauranzano and many nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews. He was also predeceased by two sisters, Carol Gillette and Mary Abbott; two brothers, John Gillette and William and his wife, Sally Gillette; father and mother-in-law, Guido and Alice Lauranzano and two brothers-in-law, the Hon. Michael C. Lauranzano and William Nelson.

His visiting hours will be held on Thursday in the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody from 4 – 7 P.M. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday in the Cove Community Center, 19 E. Corning St., Beverly from 12 - 4 P.M. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to Care Dimension Hospice, 75 Sylvan St., Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923.