2015 -- H 6222

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LC002738

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING PROFOUND SYMPATHY ON THE PASSING OF JAMES J. SKEFFINGTON,

SR.

     Introduced By: Representatives Mattiello, Ucci, Edwards, Newberry, and Blazejewski

     Date Introduced: May 20, 2015

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, It is with great sadness that this House has learned of the passing of James

J. Skeffington, Sr., an enormously well-renowned and well-respected figure in Rhode Island's

legal and business communities for more than five decades; and

     WHEREAS, James Skeffington was born in Providence, where he grew up in the Smith

Hill section of the city. He was a son of the late John and Evelyn Skeffington, and the brother of

John Skeffington, Jr., and Jane Skeffington. He attended the St. Augustine School and LaSalle

Academy, and graduated Cum Laude from Boston College, where his outstanding intellectual

prowess earned him numerous academic excellence awards including membership in the National

Academic Honor Society, and the school's prestigious Ever to Excel Award for "Outstanding

Achievement Over Four Years"; and

     WHEREAS, Continuing his education, Mr. Skeffington graduated from Georgetown

University Law Center and upon graduation, served as the first law clerk to the late Justice

Thomas F. Kelleher of the Rhode Island Supreme Court; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Skeffington lived most of his life in Barrington and Narragansett, where

he and his wife, Barbara raised their two children, James J. Skeffington Jr., and Erinn E. Murray.

A devoted family man and father, he enjoyed many hours coaching his children's baseball and

softball teams while they were young. As they grew to be adults, he developed a great

relationship with his son's wife, Renee, and his daughter's husband, Brendan, and was overjoyed

at becoming a grandfather to his seven grandchildren, Nicole, Maggie, William, Ryan, James,

Claire and Katherine. Of all his life's myriad successes and brilliant accomplishments, the love of

his family was always his most cherished gift; and

     WHEREAS, Jim Skeffington's life was replete with a panoply of achievements and

triumphs too numerous to list. He was a leading partner at the law firm Locke Lord LLP, and

played a major leadership role in numerous government and private business developments in

Rhode Island. He was a guiding force in many of the state's quasi-public authorities including,

The Port Authority and Economic Development Corporation, the Housing and Mortgage Finance

Corporation, the Health and Educational Building Corporation, the Student Loan Authority, the

Industrial Facilities Corporation, the Industrial-Recreational Building Authority, the Solid Waste

Management Corporation, the Public Building Authority, the Providence Public Parking

Authority and the Convention Center; and

     WHEREAS, Over the past fifty years, through vision, innate integrity, and leadership,

Jim Skeffington successfully supported, advocated, influenced, or enhanced many of this state's

major economic developments including the entry of General Dynamics and Fidelity into the

state, the relocation and expansion of Women and Infants Hospital, new campuses for Roger

Williams University and Bryant University, development of the Convention Center, the Westin

Hotel and the Providence Place Mall, the retention and expansion of CVS Health and GTECH

corporate headquarters, parking improvements at T.F. Green Airport, development of

Laurelmead, and most recently, led a group of investors in the purchase of the Pawtucket Red

Sox, serving as a principal owner and President of the team; and

     WHEREAS, Jim Skeffington not only changed the skyline of Providence and the

landscape of many of our state's cities and towns, but also raised Rhode Island's communities

through his unfailing support for numerous altruistic endeavors as well as individuals in need. He

served on the board of many educational and charitable institutions and was a founding member

of the Coalition for Community Development; the creator of the Ocean State Charity Trust;

Chairman Emeritus of the John E. Fogarty Foundation for the Mentally Retarded; a former

member of the Board of Visitors of Georgetown University Law Center; a trustee of the

Massachusetts Business Roundtable; and a trustee of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. In

addition, he served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce

and the American College of Bond Counsel; was a Trustee of Bryant University, Providence

College, and the Providence Performing Arts Center; and was a former Trustee of both Women

and Infants Hospital and Butler Hospital; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Skeffington was also a generous donor to the American Heart

Association (which honored him in 2009 with the Rhode Island American Heart Association

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Gold Heart Award), LaSalle Academy, Boston College and Georgetown University, as well as

the Department of Pediatric Cardiology at Boston Children's Hospital and Rhode Island Catholic

Charities; and

     WHEREAS, James Skeffington lived his life and loved his family and friends fully and

fearlessly. There is little doubt that his lifetime of accomplishments has set a standard for

excellence that is an inspiration, and he will forever be remembered for his extraordinary

leadership and his deep commitment to the betterment of our state; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby expresses our deepest sympathies on the passing of James J.

Skeffington, Sr.; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mrs. Barbara J. Skeffington and Family.

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