2019 -- H 5007

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF JOHN THOMAS LEYDEN

     Introduced By: Representatives Roberts, Shekarchi, Filippi, Mattiello, and Chippendale

     Date Introduced: January 02, 2019

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, John Thomas Leyden, known by his many friends as "Big John", passed

away on December 23, 2018, surrounded by his loved ones. He was the beloved husband of

Arlene Leyden for sixty-two years; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Leyden was born in East Greenwich, a son of the late Matthew and

Mary Leyden. He served our nation with honor and distinction in Korea where he earned the rank

of Sergeant in the United States Army. John always prioritized God, Family and Country first in

his life; and

     WHEREAS, After completing his military service, Mr. Leyden took advantage of the GI

Bill and attended the University of Rhode Island, where he met the love of his life, Arlene. After

graduation, he went on to teach Agricultural Education and the FFA (Future Farmers of America)

at Scituate Junior and Senior High School. He taught for thirty years, developed a number of

award-winning programs, and made a difference in the lives of so many youngsters as an

educator, coach, and mentor. He was a very popular and highly respected teacher who was fondly

known as "Chief" by all of his students and colleagues. He received the Rhode Island Teacher of

the Year award in 1975; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Leyden and his wife purchased 100 acres of land in West Greenwich

and started Big John Leyden's Christmas Tree Farm in 1974. Thanks to his natural exuberance

and charismatic personality, his tree farm became a beloved institution in the State of Rhode

Island, and on the national stage where he became a national spokesman for real trees and

regularly appeared on the CBS Early Show for eighteen years. John's opening lines of "Welcome,

Welcome, Welcome", and "Real Trees for Real People" became famous catch phrases both in

Rhode Island and across the nation; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Leyden was selected to be a member of the East Greenwich Athletic

Hall of Fame in 1996 and the East Greenwich Wall of Fame in 2009. He and his wife were avid

golfers and members of the Golf Harbor Golf Club in Fort Myers, Florida; and

     WHEREAS, In addition to his wife, Arlene, Mr. Leyden leaves two sons, Matthew W.

Leyden and his wife, Mary, and J. Timothy Leyden and his wife, Barbara. He also leaves behind

two sisters, Margaret Lundberg and Joan Bezak, five grandchildren, Matthew J. Leyden, Erin

Leyden-Healey and her husband, John, Meghan Andrikos and her husband, Dean, Sean Charles

Leyden and Dylan Thomas Leyden, and two great-grandsons, Owen and Jack. He was preceded

in death by his siblings, Russell Leyden, Cathleen "Pieraccini" Erba, and Robert Leyden; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby expresses its condolences to the Leyden Family on the passing of

John Thomas Leyden; 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. Arlene Leyden and Family.

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