2017 -- S 1021

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

     EXPRESSING DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF FRANK J.

MONTANARO, SR.

     Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Gallo, and Lombardi

     Date Introduced: September 19, 2017

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, It is with great sadness that this Senate mourns the passing of Frank J.

Montanaro, Sr., a highly-respected and widely-admired local and national labor leader; and

     WHEREAS, A devoted family man, Mr. Montanaro was the cherished husband of sixty

years to Madeline Montanaro, the beloved father of Laurie Montanaro, our friend and colleague,

Frank A. Montanaro and his wife, Joy, Gina Montanaro Eckman and her husband, Michael, and

Diana Montanaro, and the very proud grandfather of Alexandria, Frank J., Michael, Jake, Karissa

Montanaro, and Kelsy Lawton; and

     WHEREAS, A native of Cranston's Knightsville neighborhood, Mr. Montanaro was a

son of the late Frank A. and Matilda Montanaro, and the brother of Ann O'Connell, William

Montanaro, Angela DiRaimo, and the late Helen Harrison. He served our country with honor in

the United States Air Force during the Korean War; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Montanaro began working as a milkman on Federal Hill before joining

the Cranston Fire Department in 1959. While serving as a firefighter, he became active in the

union and was elected Vice President of Local 1363, the International Association of Fire

Fighters. In 1964, he was named President, a post he held for the next seventeen years; and

     WHEREAS, Earning the moniker "lion of labor", Mr. Montanaro was appointed as a

member of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO Executive Board and later as a member of the Rhode

Island AFL-CIO Executive Committee. In 1992, he was elected President, and also served as a

General Board Member of the National AFL-CIO; and

     WHEREAS, Memories of this remarkable man, who helped to transform our state, and

unite and shape organized labor, include his service as President of the Rhode Island State

Association of Fire Fighters, a member of the state Labor Relations Board ultimately serving as

Chair, and a member of the Democratic National Committee; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Montanaro's work has extended well beyond his efforts with the labor

movement. In 1986, he was elected as a delegate to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention

from District 24, and has been an active member of the Rhode Island Democratic State

Committee, the Board of Directors of United Way of Rhode Island, Chairman of the Board of

Trustees for the Institute for Labor Studies and Research, Chairman of Blue Cross Blue Shield of

Rhode Island, and was honored with the Community Humanitarian Award from the DaVinci

Center in 2006; and

     WHEREAS, Most recently, Mr. Montanaro served as one of the four Rhode Island

electors who cast a vote for President when the Electoral College met on Dec. 19, 2016, at the

State House; and

     WHEREAS, Frank Montanaro, Sr. did not travel the path of least resistance, and in doing

so, left the Ocean State a far better place because of his life's endeavors. His commitment and

advocacy for working families improved the lives of many Rhode Islanders and set a standard for

excellence in public service that is an inspiration to us all; now, therefore be

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby expresses deepest sympathies on the passing of Frank J. Montanaro, Sr.; and be it further

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

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Mrs. Madeline Montanaro, and Mr. Frank

Montanaro, Jr., and Family.

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