In the summer of 2000, ECW Press published the definitive collection of Ray's blues photographs, taken between 1959 and 1972. Ray, then a man in his mid-eighties, worked hard to make the book a reality. He had the satisfaction of seeing it published to wide acclaim and made many personal appearances in support of it. He met many fans and the experience meant a lot to him.

Raeburn “Ray” Flerlage died on Saturday morning, September 28, 2002. Hospitalized after a minor household accident, he caught an infection and went into a coma from which he never emerged. He was 87. Luise, his wife of 36 years, followed him exactly one month later.