For members of the Big Red Band, it was an emotional week...and those emotions continued to be displayed Saturday at the memorial service for long time percussion instructor Chet Backus.

"My connection with Chet goes back to my father," said Greg Myers, Director of Williamstown's High School band, "they both marched in the Big Red band, and my father and law played numerous gigs with him. And I played with him most recently at the Blennerhassett."

For family, friends and the public, a time to remember...a person who touched generations of lives.

And a funeral procession fit for one whose life was given to being a Big Red. But it wasn't just the big red musicians who Backus influenced. Zachary Tumlin was among those influenced as well. he was a band member of rival Parkersburg South High School.

"I know, within the music education community, he is well-known and well-respected for his years of service," Tumlin said.

So does he think is this a loss for the entire school system?

"I do, just because of his years of experience and the connections he had, a lot of people knew him."

The legacy of Backus, who died on Monday, goes beyond PHS.

He performed throughout the years with several local bands, and toured nationally with the group Command Performance.

Memorial donations may be made in his name to the percussion section of the PHS Big Red Band.