Piano Donated in Memory of Robert A. Pacheco Jr.
Bob and Barbara Pacheco, the parents of late Bourne High School teacher Robert A. Pacheco Jr., stand in front of the digital piano they donated to the high school’s music department. (Photo courtesy Bourne Public Schools) 
Bourne High School music teacher Lisa Fournier tests the piano donated to the school by Bob and Barbara Pacheco (standing). (Photo courtesy Bourne Public Schools)
BOURNE — Superintendent Kerri Anne Quinlan-Zhou and Bourne High School Principal Amy Cetner, are pleased to announce the donation of a new digital piano to the high school’s Music Department. The piano was donated in memory of Bourne High School’s former social studies teacher Robert A. Pacheco Jr., who died unexpectedly due to illness last year.
The school was gifted the piano, from Sandwich Piano Works, by Robert’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Barbara Pacheco. The piano boasts a plaque commemorating their son Robert who was a supporter of the school’s music program. According to Bourne High School music teacher Lisa Fournier, this generous donation will be used during ensemble chorus performances and in daily chorus classes.
“Bob was an avid musician who supported students in music teacher Lisa Fournier’s classes,” said Principal Amy Cetner. “Bob befriended many students and staff at the school when he worked as a special education support teacher and in many other roles, and later when he became a social studies teacher, which was his dream job. He also taught private piano lessons to students.”
The piano was delivered to Bourne High School on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Robert and Barbara Pacheco were present for its delivery and were treated to a first song by Fournier.
Fournier and Pacheco Jr. were close friends who would often meet on Zoom during remote learning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to play dueling piano solos.
The digital piano will require less maintenance than one of the standard pianos used in school chorus performances. The school regularly hired a vendor to tune their standard piano before and after any performances, as well as after significant temperature fluctuations. The digital piano doesn’t need to be tuned.
“He loved playing the piano,” Fournier said. “The gift is such a tribute to his legacy. When I’m gone, his name will still be on it. It’s a tribute to him and who he was. When I look at it, I smile.”
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