Year Inducted: 2022
Arnold B. Chace, Jr. - Arnold Buffum Chace, Jr. (Buff) is a real estate developer, a preservationist, a conservationist, and a community activist, whose vision and forward thinking helped spur a transformation of Downtown Providence starting in the 1990s. The transformation continues to this day. Raised on the East Side of Providence, he attended Moses Brown before prep school in…
Attorney General Hebert F. DeSimone - After graduating from Brown in 1951, Herb entered Columbia University Law School from which he received his degree in 1954. Shortly thereafter he was admitted to the Rhode Island Bar to begin a legal career that spanned six decades. In 1966 Herb ran as a Republican for attorney general as part of a formidable slate…
Dr. Edward A. Iannuccilli - “Life holds a knapsack full of memories – all of them significant; many, if not most, worth recording. Growing up in a neighborhood of family and friends was a journey to cherish. That neighborhood and the people living, working, and playing there, though from diverse ethnic backgrounds, had strong traditions of family, caring, and mutual…
Dr. Elmer E. Cornwell, Jr. - Elmer Cornwell was born on July 6, 1924, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, son of the late Elmer E. and Eloise (Leining) Cornwell. He attended Holyoke public schools and graduated from High School as valedictorian in 1942. Elmer was admitted to Williams College where he attended his freshman year, but in June, 1943 he was drafted into…
Dr. Kenneth R. Walker, Sr. - Kenneth Walker grew up in East Providence, the son of Lillian and Frank Walker. He was the husband of Gail Walker for 63 years, the father of two daughters, Leanne and Michelle, a son Kenneth Jr., and six grandchildren. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War. Dr. Walker graduated from High…
Elaine Guthrie Lorillard - The inclusion of Elaine and her husband, Louis Lorillard, into Rhode Island's Hall of Fame has been overdue. Meeting in Naples, Italy during World War II, this couple began a most creative partnership, and one that greatly affected the arts in America. Louis was descended from the owners of the Lorillard Tobacco Company, a firm…
James Birchfield Sr. - Legendary promoter Jimmy Burchfield Sr is most often referred to as the hardest working promoter in combat sports. This native Rhode Islander and North Providence resident has the well-deserved reputation in this region as the individual most responsible for consistently providing young fighters with a platform to chase their dreams. In 1992, fueled by a…
Jeannie Carroll Serpa - Matthew J. Serpa., a former seminarian at Our Lady of Providence and St. Mary’s in Baltimore was a legendary Catholic layman, not only in St. Michael’s Parish but throughout the state. He was born on January 3, 1921, the son of a Portuguese father and an Irish mother (Jane Yorkery). Matt and his wife, Jeannie,…
John J. McCauley Jr. - John loved the schools he attended and his close relationships with his coaches and teammates. Through football, John discovered his passion for coaching. He began teaching and coaching football at St. Bernard's High School in Fitchburg, Massachusettes, from 1953 to 1958. He earned his master's degree in Education from nearby Fitchburg State University. Later, he…
John Mecray - In his prime, John Mecray was once called “the greatest living nautical artist”.The fascinating life of John Marcy Mecray began on February 13, 1937 in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. Later his family moved to Cape May, New Jersey where he was raised. Then he studied at Philadelphia College of Art now the University of the Arts.…
Judge Walter R. Stone - Walter Stone was born in Chicago on July 12, 1944 to nurse Lavinia Stone who died two days after his birth. Later he moved with his family to Ketucky. As a young man he attended Tennessee State University and earned an AB from Fisk University in Nashville before entering the Marines during the Vietnam War. …
Lloyd E. Bliss - When Lloyd Bliss passed away at the age of 90 on November 10, 2001, the State of Rhode Island lost a man who is arguably one of the foremost pioneers of business in not only our state, but in the entire nation. The husband of the late Estelle (Leif) Bliss, father of Dan and Jane,…
Louis L. Lorillard - The inclusion of Elaine and her husband, Louis Lorillard, into Rhode Island's Hall of Fame has been overdue. Meeting in Naples, Italy during World War II, this couple began a most creative partnership, and one that greatly affected the arts in America. Louis was descended from the owners of the Lorillard Tobacco Company, a firm…
Major Peter J. O’Connell - Peter J. O’Connell was born in Providence on April 16, 1921, to Irish immigrant parents. Peter was raised in Mount Pleasant and attended Blessed Sacrament School and LaSalle Academy. His strong faith and moral values rooted in family formulated the way he lived his private and public life. Peter married his devoted wife, Frances in…
Mark Patinkin - Mark Patinkin came within a whisker of earning a Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. Not a bad achievement when you consider he started his career with the Providence Journal by barging into the General Manager’s office over 40 years ago almost begging for a job. He succeeded in his quest. He got to work the…
Matthew J. Serpa, Jr. - Matthew J. Serpa., a former seminarian at Our Lady of Providence and St. Mary’s in Baltimore was a legendary Catholic layman, not only in St. Michael’s Parish but throughout the state. He was born on January 3, 1921, the son of a Portuguese father and an Irish mother (Jane Yorkery). Matt and his wife, Jeannie,…
Richard M. Oster - Richard M. Oster was a successful financier, philanthropist, and civic leader. No matter where work or life took him around the globe, Richard never forgot where he came from and was a Rhode Islander through and through. A graduate of Moses Brown School in Providence and the University of Rhode Island, Richard began his business…
Robert I. Burke - Perhaps growing up on Roger Williams Avenue, being walked in a stroller in Roger Williams Park or learning his great grandfather owned the spring that became the Roger Williams National Memorial caused Bob to be smitten with the history of Rhode Island. That led to the Herbert C. Pell Award for Excellence in American History…
Roberta Mudge Humble - Roberta Mudge Humble was born on August 5, 1946, to Robert and Claire (nee Wordell) Mudge of Westerly. Roberta soon exhibited a talent for writing when, as an elementary school student, she composed articles and poems for the school newspaper. Roberta developed other skills as well. When she was fourteen, she became the “youngest antiques…
Rosewell S. Bosworth, Jr. - A son of the late Roswell S. and Edith (Howard) Bosworth, Roswell S. Bosworth, Jr. was destined to follow in the footsteps of his enterprising father who had edited and published the Bristol Phoenix for nearly fifty years, from 1928 to 1974. Born on September 2, 1926 to one of Bristol’s oldest families, young Roswell…
Speaker John Harwood - John Harwood is a man of great ability and versatility He has generated impressive careers in sports, politics, law, and humanitarian service. In every endeavor he has assumed the mantel of leadership. John was born in Providence on January 14, 1952, the son of Pawtucket residents Bernard and Helen Harwood. Harwood’s career in sports came…
Stanley Weiss - The man who placed his elegant mark on the city of Providence and beyond was born to a working-class family in Brooklyn, NY. His whirlwind journey to Rhode Island began when Stanley Weiss’ beloved mother placed a violin in his young hands. He didn’t disappoint. Weiss would devote himself to his craft and secure a…
Walter F. McLaughlin - WALTER F. McLAUGHLIN was born in Providence on May 7, 1938 to John C. and Eleanor (Martin) McLaughlin. Walter was taught by The Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Teresa’s School on Manton Avenue and lived his young life in the Olneyville Section of Providence. His father committed suicide in 1950 leaving Walter and his…
Wilfred Chief “Eagle Heart” Greene - Wilfred W. Greene, Jr. was born in South Providence on June 12, 1937, the son of Rita Kearns of Irish descent and Wilfred William Greene, a man of Native American ancestry who ran an asphalt business. In South Providence during the middle of the past century a young man was known and respected mainly by…
