2021 -- S 0823

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LC002727

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF VICTORIA CHIACU

     Introduced By: Senator Melissa A. Murray

     Date Introduced: April 21, 2021

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, Victoria Chiacu was born in Woonsocket, the daughter of the late George

and Mary Babiana. She was the beloved wife of the late Nicholas V. Chiacu; and

     WHEREAS, Mrs. Chiacu was a graduate of Hill College. Her first job was as an

executive secretary at the Woonsocket YMCA where she developed and expanded her

professional skills. She learned much about commerce from her father, who owned a local

business on Main Street; and

     WHEREAS, Mrs. Chiacu was a lifelong member of St. John the Baptist Romanian

Orthodox Church, the church Choir and the Ladies' Auxiliary. Her faith always played an integral

role in her life and it was at a Church dance where she would meet the love of her life, Nicholas

Chiacu. Mr. Chiacu would regularly drive all the way from New York City to see her and they

were married in 1942, a celebration that made the front pages of the local newspapers; and

     WHEREAS, For a period during World War II, Victoria and her husband Nicholas

settled in New York City, where she ran an insurance office while he was serving our nation in

the United States Navy on a ship in Japanese waters. She then made the decision to move back to

Woonsocket to wait for her husband to return from the war. They then proceeded to raise a family

and build a wonderful life together; and

     WHEREAS, After forty-five years of working hard in the professional world, Victoria

retired and decided to winter in Florida each year for three months. In retirement, she learned how

to swim, and focused on her grandchildren, who were the delight of her life; and

     WHEREAS, Victoria Chiacu leaves behind her daughters, Christine Chiacu-Forsythe and

her husband, Kenton, Debra Chiacu and her significant other, Charles O’Neal III, and Karen

Recco and her husband, Jack. She also leaves behind her two sisters, Florence Costulas and Stella

Babiana and her three grandchildren, Jeremy Forsythe, Jonathan Forsythe, and Kendra Forsythe

and her fiancé, Andrew Slafta. She also leaves behind many nieces and nephews, including Peter

Fatse and his wife, Beth, and Brian Fatse and his wife, Sue. Victoria was predeceased by Andrew

Babiana, Sylvia Fatse, Jimmy Babiana, and Virginia Baker; and

     WHEREAS, Victoria Chiacu will be long-remembered by her family and many friends

for her beautiful smile, her innate ability to make a house a warm, loving and nurturing place, her

charming demeanor, her great sense of style, and the immense amount of wisdom and love she

dispensed daily to her family and friends; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby expresses its deepest

condolences to the Chiacu Family on the passing of Victoria Chiacu; and be it further

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

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Christine Chiacu-Forsythe, Debra Chiacu, and

Karen Recco.

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