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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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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 RETIRED RHODE ISLAND

SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE JOSEPH R. WEISBERGER

     Introduced By: Senators Paiva Weed, McCaffrey, Conley, Walaska, and Algiere

     Date Introduced: January 02, 2013

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

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     WHEREAS, It is with deep sadness and regret that this Senate has learned of the passing

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of The Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger, retired Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court

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and a highly respected adjudicator who dedicated fifty-six years of service to the citizens and

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Judiciary of Rhode Island; and  

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     WHEREAS, A devoted family man, Chief Justice Weisberger was the husband of sixty

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years to Sylvia Weisberger, and together the couple had raised three children, J. Robert

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Weisberger, Jr., Judith Greene, and the late  Paula W. Wroblewski.  He was the beloved

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grandfather of Joseph Weisberger, III, Justin Weisberger, Anya Wroblewski, and Robert

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Wroblewski, Jr., and is also survived by his daughter-in-law, Gail Weisberger, and his son-in-

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law, Gordon Greene, II; and

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     WHEREAS, Born in Providence, a son of the late Samuel and Ann Elizabeth Weisberger,

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Chief Justice Weisberger had made his home in Riverside for 56 years.  In 1941, while an

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undergraduate at Brown University, Chief Justice Weisberger interrupted his studies and joined

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the United States Navy, where he served in the Pacific.  He returned stateside and continued his

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education, earning degrees from Brown University and Harvard Law School; and

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     WHEREAS, At the age of thirty-five, after serving briefly as a Rhode Island State

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Senator, Chief Justice Weisberger was appointed to the Rhode Island Judiciary in 1956. With

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dedication and amazing legal acumen, he rose from the Superior Court to the high court.  He

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became an Associate Justice in 1978 and was named acting Chief Justice of the Rhode Island

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Supreme Court in 1993.  In 1995, he was permanently appointed to the position of Chief Justice

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of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, which he held until his retirement at the age of 80; and

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     WHEREAS, Chief Justice Weisberger possessed a brilliant mind and a fair and

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magnanimous spirit.  He had the love of his family and friends, earned the admiration of his

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peers, and was eminently worthy of the gratitude of all Rhode Islanders.  He will be profoundly

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missed by those who had the good fortune to be a part of his vital and fulfilling life; now,

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therefore be it

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

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hereby expresses our deepest sympathies to his wife, Sylvia, and the entire Weisberger family on

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the passing of The Honorable Chief Justice Weisberger.  He will forever be remembered as a

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highly respected and admired judge who presided with fairness and justice, and served the people

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of the State of Rhode Island with integrity and excellence; and be it further    

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

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Mrs. Sylvia Weisberger and Family.

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