Friends And Fans Bid Farewell To Uncle Ray

Friends and fans of the late RTHK disc jockey Ray Cordeiro – or "Uncle Ray" – on Thursday bid farewell to him at a memorial service, before he was laid to rest.

At the service in the Hong Kong Funeral Home, nostalgic hits performed at a concert to commemorate Uncle Ray's retirement in 2021 were played.

The hall was lined with floral wreaths sent by officials, including Chief Secretary Eric Chan and financial chief Paul Chan, as well as celebrities like Andy Lau.

Liza and Maria – long-time listeners of his “All The Way With Ray” show – came to pay their respects.

"I spent so many nights listening to his music before falling asleep [for] fifty, sixty years," said Liza.

"When we were little kids, we listened to his music on the radio," said Maria. "[He is] part of our lives."

Long-time friend, Khan, who said he had known Uncle Ray for more than four decades, told RTHK he will miss the time they spent together.

"Just meeting each other, having a joke, having a laugh. He was a happy soul," he said. "A wonderful guy, there're very few people like him."

Norman Cheng, who founded an entertainment company, is the chairman of the funeral organising committee. He said Uncle Ray nurtured a lot of local talent.

"Without Uncle Ray, I think they wouldn't have been that many famous singers in Hong Kong in the 80s and 90s."

Singer-songwriter Albert Au, also on the committee, said the late DJ is the most important person to him.

"Uncle Ray introduced me to the record industry, to record my first album. The first song was chosen by him and it became a number one hit," he said.

Uncle Ray died last month at the age of 98, almost two years after retiring.

He had served in the broadcasting industry for over seven decades, and was recognised as the "World's Most Durable DJ" by the Guinness Book of World Records.

A private funeral will take place at St Joseph’s Church on Friday, followed by a cremation at Cape Collinson.