Raymond V. Beecher

We continue to be grateful for the extraordinary generosity and dedication Ray Beecher gave to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. He will always be remembered as our first and most important benefactor.

It was my profiund pleasure and honor to work with Raymond Beecher during the late 1990s to devise and implement a plan to acquire, restore and preserve for future generations the historic home of Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson School of American Landscape painting and ground zero of American Art and the Environmental Conservation movement. Thanks to Mr. Beecher's extraordinary generosity, insight and remarkable devotion to preserving and promoting the best elements in American History,...

Ray Beecher's passion for place created a living history for the Thomas Cole Historic Site and for Greene County. He was a treasure of the region as well as the world beyond. We are so lucky to have known Mr Beecher, an inspiration to all of us who will work to carry forward his vision.

Ray
Beecher was an inspiration to all of us who had the good fortune of
knowing him and working with him. He set the standard for dedication to
one's community with his intelligence and integrity. He truly was not
only a Greene County Treasure, but a National Treasure. We will miss
him but we will continue the work at Cedar Grove The Thomas Cole
National Historic site, one of his great legacies.
Michel Goldberg

We at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site are extremely saddened by the passing of our founding father, Ray Beecher. Without his vision and immense generosity the Cole House would never have become the centerpiece of our cultural heritage which it is today. His inspiration will live on through the great legacy he has left us all.

Ray Beecher was primarily responsible for rescuing the Thomas Cole Historic site from the wrecker's ball and continued to provide leadership and wise direction until the day of his death. We will dedicate our future work to his memory.

Ray Beecher was a great friend and inspiration to all of us at the Thomas Cole Historic Site in Catskill, New York. We are grateful to him for his leadership, intelligence, passion for history, and commitment to preserving historic sites for the next generation. We will miss him greatly.

Thank you for bringing Greene County history to life. We will miss your presence, it was an honor to have known you.

Ray Beecher was a wonderful warm and giving person, major local historian of Greene County and a Friend. Ray was instrumental in saving and preserving the Thomas Cole House , Cedar Grove, and for that alone New York State and the American Art community owes Ray a Big Thank You! He will be missed by all.