2020 -- S 2887

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF RICHARD D. FOSSA

     Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, Ciccone, Archambault, Paolino, and Nesselbush

     Date Introduced: June 17, 2020

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, Richard D. Fossa, the son of G. Richard Fossa, former Mayor of North

Providence, and the late Jean Fossa, passed away on June 13, 2020. He was the loving husband of

Teri Holmes; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Fossa was a beloved figure within the Rhode Island High School

athletics community, widely admired for the passion he brought to his duties as a coach, manager

and athletic director, and for the positive difference he made in the lives of countless young

people; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Fossa was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Ohio

University from which he attained a Master’s of Science degree in Administration. He began his

distinguished public service career as a coach at North Providence High School, before moving

on to Narragansett. As the head football coach, he won the Division IV Super Bowl in 1999 and

2003. Altogether, he coached the Narragansett Mariners for fifteen years and later coached its

baseball team; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Fossa subsequently moved into administration positions and served as

the Narragansett High School Athletic Director and, most recently, as the North Kingstown High

School Athletic Director, where in just three short years he had turned it into one of the elite

public school athletic departments in Rhode Island; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Fossa has received numerous awards and honors in recognition of his

esteemed public service career. He won the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Sportsmanship

Award for 1999, the Providence Gridiron Coach of the Year award four times, and was named to

the Club’s Hall of Fame. He also served as the President of the Club for seven years, and was a

Past President of the Rhode Island High School Football Coaches Association. Mr. Fossa was

inducted into the North Providence Sports Hall of Fame, the Italian American Sports Hall of

Fame, and the Rhode Island High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Fossa was very active in community affairs. He was a member of the

Narragansett Lion’s Club and the Narragansett Community Athletic Complex Fundraising and

Construction Boards, where he played a vital role in securing funding for the high school to build

a state-of-the-art playing field with a track and lights, an accomplishment he had vigorously

pursued for years in order to give all student-athletes the best possible athletic experience; and

     WHEREAS, In addition to his wife Teri, Mr. Fossa leaves behind his children, Cameron

Fossa, Casondra Fossa, and Corey Fossa, and his wife, Lindsey. He was also the grandfather of

Camden and Collins, brother of Lorna Fossa-Moretti and her husband Robert, and was the Uncle

and Godfather of Briana and Brandon; now, therefore be it

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

hereby expresses its condolences to the family of Richard D. Fossa; 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. Teri Fossa and Family.

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