RIP to a phenomenal artist.
Jeff Beck never did have the public following that so many other rock guitarists had, but I think 99% of the people actually in the industry considered him better than every one of those other guys. I place him second only to Robert Fripp as absolute master of the guitar, and it's really a hair thin line between them.
Even post mortem, he'll probably never have the fame of Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Van Halen, Prince, etc., etc., but I'd venture to say he had more influence on professional guitarists than any of them (not meaning to denigrate any of them; just saying that Beck was even more talented and had more of a reputation as someone who would mentor anyone who was serious).