2024 -- S 2495

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LC004711

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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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 HAROLD L.

TRAFFORD, JR.

     Introduced By: Senators Raptakis, Burke, Rogers, F. Lombardi, Bissaillon, Quezada,
Tikoian, Bell, and Murray

     Date Introduced: February 15, 2024

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

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

Honorable Harold L. Trafford, Jr., the beloved husband of Jacqueline Trafford for 64 years; and

     WHEREAS, The Honorable Harold L. Trafford, Jr., was born in Providence, a son of the

late Harold and Kathleen Trafford. He was raised in the Olneyville and Federal Hill

neighborhoods of Providence; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Trafford graduated from LaSalle Academy in 1952, and immediately

began working for the Providence Journal as a copy boy on the Evening Bulletin Staff, thus

beginning a successful forty-four year career with the Providence Journal that would culminate

with his advancement to the position of Section Editor and his retirement in 1996; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Trafford served the State of Rhode Island and our nation with honor for

ten years as a member of the Rhode Island National Guard 115th Military Police Company and

was honorably discharged in 1962 with the rank of Corporal; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Trafford has a long and distinguished record as a dedicated public

servant. He was elected to the Coventry Town Council in 1976, and served the citizens of

Coventry with distinction and abiding integrity for eight years. While on the council, he served as

President for his last four years; and

     WHEREAS, After his service on the Town Council, Mr. Trafford was appointed to serve

on the Coventry Housing Authority, a position he held for several years. He played a key role in

the development and building of several elderly and affordable housing developments; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Trafford was a man of great faith and a devout Catholic his entire life.

He was a Past Grand Knight of the Monsignor Blessing Council, Knights of Columbus, and a

former District Deputy. He was a communicant of SS. John & Paul Parish in Coventry, where he

served as the President of the Parish Council, President of the Home/School Association, Parish

Auditor, Lector, and Eucharistic Minister. He also served as a Big Brother and had the great

honor of being inducted into the LaSalle Academy Hall of Fame; and

     WHEREAS, In his free time, Mr. Trafford was a devoted fan of the Boston Red Sox.

Throughout his life, Mr. Trafford always put his family first and foremost; and

     WHEREAS, In addition to his wife, Jacqueline, Mr. Trafford leaves behind his children,

Tammy Zink and her husband, Bill, Sherri Ferland and her husband, Robert, and his son, Daniel

Trafford and his wife, Renee. He also leaves behind his grandchildren, Mary, Kaleigh, Natalie,

Harold and William, and his brothers, George Trafford, and Edward Trafford and his wife,

Susanne. Mr. Trafford was also the brother of the late Robert Trafford; now, therefore be it

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

condolences on the passing of the Honorable Harold L. Trafford, Jr.; 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. Jacqueline Trafford and Family.

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LC004711

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