2020 -- S 2022 | |
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LC003388 | |
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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 THE HONORABLE SUPERIOR | |
COURT JUSTICE, JOHN E. ORTON, III | |
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Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Algiere, and Conley | |
Date Introduced: January 15, 2020 | |
Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar | |
1 | WHEREAS, It is with great sadness that this Senate has learned of the passing of the |
2 | Honorable Justice John E. Orton, III. Judge Orton was the son of the late John E. Jr., and Irene |
3 | Orton. He was the loving husband of the late Sabra Orton. He leaves behind his wife Denise |
4 | Orton. Judge Orton was a graduate of Cranston High School, where he was the Class President, |
5 | the Cheshire Academy Class of 1950, Brown University in 1954, and the Boston University |
6 | School of Law in 1962. He also served our nation with honor as a member of the United States |
7 | Marine Corps and the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He excelled in athletics and was a |
8 | distinguished member of both the Brown University and Marine Corps Football Teams; and |
9 | WHEREAS, Justice Orton was admitted to the Rhode Island Bar Association in 1962 and |
10 | began his exemplary legal career by practicing law in Warwick and Providence with former |
11 | Governor Philip Noel. In 1969, he was appointed to serve as an Associate Justice of the Rhode |
12 | District Court by Governor Frank Licht and in 1974 he was appointed to serve as an Associate |
13 | Justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court by Governor Noel. Judge Orton retired in 1991 as the |
14 | Acting Presiding Justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court; and |
15 | WHEREAS, Judge Orton was a distinguished jurist who leaves behind a sterling record |
16 | of tireless service and impeccable integrity. Judge Orton presided over many of Rhode Island's |
17 | most important and complex cases. He was widely admired and respected by all involved in the |
18 | legal process. Presiding Superior Court Justice Alice Gibney, in describing Judge Orton, said that |
19 | "The joy of him was that he was a joy for lawyers to appear before because he was savvy, he was |
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1 | efficient and he was decisive", and she went on to say about Judge Orton that "There was an |
2 | everyman demeanor that made him popular with lawyers and with jurors"; and |
3 | WHEREAS, Judge Orton also was a devoted family man, a dear friend to many, and a |
4 | role model to numerous aspiring lawyers. His passing is a tremendous loss to our state and his |
5 | family and many friends, but his distinguished legacy will live on forever. Perhaps former |
6 | Governor Philip Noel expressed it best when he said about Judge Orton "In all of my experience, |
7 | he was the finest man I ever met"; and |
8 | WHEREAS, In addition to his wife Denise Orton, he also leaves behind his children, |
9 | John W. Orton, Richard E. Orton and his wife, Karen, and Christopher Orton and his wife, |
10 | Elizabeth. He was the stepfather of Karen Soderi and her husband, Paul, and Sheila Felice and her |
11 | husband, John. He was the grandfather of Stephanie, Heather, Alexandra, Emma, Jackson, |
12 | Calvin, Daniel, and Nicholas, and the great-grandfather of Gibson, Avery and Emma, and was the |
13 | brother of Joyce Vanderwart. Judge Orton is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and good |
14 | friends; now, therefore be it |
15 | RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |
16 | hereby expresses its deepest condolences to the Orton Family on the passing of the Honorable |
17 | John E. Orton, III, Retired Justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court; and be it further |
18 | RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
19 | transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mrs. Denise Orton and Family. |
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LC003388 | |
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