2024 -- H 7000

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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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 THE HONORABLE NEIL A.

CORKERY

     Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Blazejewski, McNamara, Chippendale,
Kennedy, Edwards, Cruz, Potter, Handy, and Bennett

     Date Introduced: January 02, 2024

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, It is with deep sadness that this House has learned of the passing of Neil A.

Corkery of North Kingstown. He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the son of the late James

and Anne Corkery, and was the loving husband of Maureen Corkery for 57 years; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Corkery was a teacher by profession who served the citizens and

schoolchildren of Providence with the utmost devotion and abiding integrity for thirty years as

both a teacher and as an Assistant Superintendent. He cared deeply about every single pupil in his

classrooms and was a trusted and valued mentor to many youngsters and had an enormously

positive impact on their lives; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Corkery was elected to serve in the Rhode Island House of

Representatives in 1984, an office he held for eight years. He was widely admired by his

colleagues for his tireless work ethic and his vast knowledge on issues pertaining to education,

health care and substance abuse. In recognition of his leadership on these issues, he was

appointed Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare, and the Long-

Term Care Coordinating Council; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Corkery described himself as a "Friend of Bill W.", who battled against

and overcame his own substance abuse addiction. As a member of the Rhode Island General

Assembly, he secured the necessary funding to create a rehabilitation center for young men, a

facility that was named in his honor. He also served as the Executive Director of the Drug and

Alcohol Treatment Center of Rhode Island, and as the Associate Director of Government Affairs

at Brown University, where he organized the Brown University/Providence Journal Public Affairs

Conference; and

     WHEREAS, In his free time, Mr. Corker was an avid book collector who loved reading,

particularly books authored by famed writer John Updike. He most enjoyed spending time with

his family and many friends and had fun taking his dog, Sadie, to Pastiche in Providence and

Shayna’s Place in Wickford; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Corkery was a kind and gentle soul who always put his family and

serving others first in his life. He helped countless people throughout his life and he truly was the

epitome of the dedicated public servant; and

     WHEREAS, In addition to his wife, Maureen, he was the devoted father of Michael

Corkery and the late Christopher Corkery, grandfather to Eamon Corkery and his wife, Emily,

and also leaves behind his sister, Marie Troy, and nieces, nephews and in-laws. He was the

brother of the late Anne Corkery; now, therefore be it

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

expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of the Honorable Neil A. Corkery; 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 Maureen Corkery and Family.

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