Ray Rexer
Ray at "The Stanley Hotel" in Estes Park Colorado. Horrorfest 1989. "The Overlook" hotel was based onm this hotel when the King's spent some time in Colorado.
The interview that you just read was probably the last project that Ray Rexer finished before his tragic death on April 26th, 1991. Although I didn't know Ray very well (we talked twice on the phone and swapped a few letters during a relatively short period of time) I did develop a definite impression of what the man was about and the great love he had for the horror genre.

Ray Rexer was a genuinely nice and considerate guy. He wrote me on several occasions to let me know how much he enjoyed my books and short stories, and I was always grateful for the amount of interest he showed in my fiction. Ray was also a very humorous and fun sort of fellow. His letters were always witty and outrageous, sometimes to the point of having me literally rolling on the floor in laughter.

When I was informed that Ray had died in the line of duty in Bay City, Michigan, I was stunned. Initially, my shock was due to having just completed the above interview only a few days before his death and the sadness felt at the loss of an acquaintance who I admired very much. But another aspect of Ray's death hit me just as hard. I had had no earthly idea that Ray was a police officer. Nary a time during our correspondence or conversations had his profession ever been mentioned. That, in itself, is something to be sad about.

Sometimes we in the horror genre are so engrossed in discussing the aspects of our chosen field of interest, that we neglect to ask simple questions like what do you do for a living, are you married, and do you have any children? I wish now that I had asked Ray those questions and viewed him more as a flesh-and-blood man than just another reviewer or fellow writer.

Finally, I'd just like to say that, like his family and friends, I am proud of Ray Rexer. In this day of backstabbing corporate executives and folks just out to make a quick dollar, Ray chose a difficult and unselfish profession and dedicated his life to serving and protecting the public. It is a job that most of us would never have the skill or the guts to take on. Ray Rexer took on that challenge and gave it his all. There's really nothing more to be said, but maybe thanks. Thanks, Ray, from all of us.

Ron Kelly
Antioch, Tennessee
1991

Published:
The Overlook Connection
Summer 1991
#15, p. 25