2020 -- S 2900

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LC005355

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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 DEEPEST SYMPATHY ON THE PASSING OF EDNA O'NEILL MATTSON

     Introduced By: Senators Sheehan, and Euer

     Date Introduced: June 17, 2020

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, It is with profound sadness that this Senate has learned of the passing of

Edna O’Neill Mattson, the cherished mother of John O’Neill Mattson and his wife, Annette

Hofmann, and the late James Walter Mattson and Edwin Albert Mattson, and the devoted

grandmother of her “Sunshine” Anna Mattson-Hofmann; and

     WHEREAS, Born in Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest daughter in the large and

loving family of the late Francis and Edna O’Neill, Mrs. O’Neill Mattson was the sister of the late

James O’Neill, Patricia Shamon, and Terrance O’Neill, and the aunt to many nieces and nephews;

and

     WHEREAS, Later, as part of a military family, Mrs. O’Neill Mattson had relocated

myriad times before settling down in North Kingstown. In addition to making a home for her

family, she worked as the Director of Facility Use of the Community Colleges of Rhode Island

for almost forty years; and

     WHEREAS, As a young girl, Mrs. O’Neill Mattson was involved with the Girls Scouts,

beginning what would become a lifetime of volunteerism including her efforts with the American

Red Cross, Navy Relief Society, and service as Committee Chair Member for the RIESGR. She

was also active with the CCRI Foundation, had helped to organize the Academic Decathlon,

supported student leadership committees, and had served as a union representative, until her

retirement at the age of 81; and

     WHEREAS, A proud and devoted Democrat, Mrs. O’Neill Mattson had earned the

respect and admiration of the many citizens and candidates she helped through the years. She was

a volunteer for John F. Kennedy, served as the Rhode Island Democratic National Committee

Woman and as a Super Delegate, and was proud to have had the honor of shaking hands with

Eleanor Roosevelt; and

     WHEREAS, Mrs. O’Neill Mattson was recognized for her dedicated efforts on behalf of

numerous altruistic causes and had been the recipient of the YWCA Women of Achievement

Award and the RIDNC Eleanor Slater Award; and

     WHEREAS, The most fitting tribute to Edna O’Neill Mattson is a celebration of her life,

a life in which each and every day was lived fully. She brightened and enriched the lives of many

and she will be dearly missed and forever remembered; now, therefore be it

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

hereby expresses its heartfelt condolences on the passing of Edna O’Neill Mattson; 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 Mr. John O’Neill Mattson and Family.

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