BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Bellows Falls recently lost a wonderful man and pillar of the community, Ray Massucco. Mr. Massucco wore many hats: husband, father, loyal friend, lawyer, philanthropist, and tireless music promoter.
Born in 1947 in Waterbury, Conn., Ray grew up in, and was a longtime resident of, Bellows Falls. He dedicated his life to helping and promoting anyone in need, and contributed countless hours throughout the years to his valued community.
He graduated from Bellows Falls Union High School in 1965, the University of Vermont in 1970, and Suffolk Law School in 1973. After graduating, Ray loved nothing more than returning to Bellows Falls where he practiced law for 50-plus years. He also served on the Windham County Bar Association, the Vermont Bar Association, and the Vermont and National Board of Bar Examiners.
Some of Ray’s other local activities included the YMCA Board, Downtown Townscape Project, Rockingham Free Public Library Board, Connecticut Watershed Council, Greater Rockingham Service Board, Village and Town Moderator, and Rockingham’s 250th Celebration. He was also quite a prolific blood donor.
“I was trying to remember the first time I ever met Ray,” Charlie Hunter said in a recent interview. “When I first moved to Bellows Falls, maybe someone directed me to him when I needed a lawyer to look over some legal matter. Or, maybe it was when there was a worthwhile project I was involved in that had no money, or maybe when we both started to produce music events in town. Either way, Ray always stepped forward and donated his time and efforts to help make everything happen.”
Mr. Massucco was a great lover of music and worked tirelessly to bring live music to the Rockingham area for decades; first with his nearly 20 years of “The Roots On The River” festivals and then, later, launching “Vermont Festivals.” The wealth and variety of music artists Ray brought to this area is quite frankly, stunning and countless.
To honor Massucco’s many music promotion accomplishments and activities, a new concert series called the “Ray Massucco Concert Series,” is being launched by a group of his friends in conjunction with the Bellows Falls Opera House, including artist Charlie Hunter, Ezra Veitch, Patrick LaBlanc, and Maridee Serebrov.
“Our current plan is to honor Ray in 2023 by featuring four acts that he was involved in bringing to town over his almost 20 years of producing events,” Hunter added. “We are aiming to do roughly one show per season in 2023. We have an experienced core group to produce the shows – with Ezra, Maridee, and Patrick – all of whom worked on ‘Roots’ with Ray for many years. Numerous others have stepped forward to say they want to help as well.”
Area residents are encouraged to visit the Bellows Falls Opera House website to purchase tickets for the upcoming “Ray Massucco Concert Series.” The pre-show funds will, in turn, be used to bring in various music artists for the concert series. Please visit www.bellowsfallsoperahouse.com/special-events.