2024 -- S 3007

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LC006008

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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

EXTENDING CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF GRACE GUNNIP

     

     Introduced By: Senator Valarie J. Lawson

     Date Introduced: April 24, 2024

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

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

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Gunnip, the beloved and very proud mother of Jenny and her husband, Chris, Jon and his wife,

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Katie, and Matthew and his wife, Rose; and

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     WHEREAS, Born in the City of Providence, Ms. Gunnip was the daughter of Henry and

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Mary Waldron, and the sister of Henry Waldon and his wife, Katie, Kay Conroy and her husband,

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Joe, Anne Murphy, and Mary Plante; and

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     WHEREAS, Ms. Gunnip was a graduate of St. Patrick’s High School, and at the age of

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41, earned a degree in Human Development & Family Studies from the University of Rhode

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Island, where she was honored with a “special acknowledgment for her perseverance in pursuing

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her degree despite challenges”; and

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     WHEREAS, In her late 30s, Ms. Gunnip had been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré

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syndrome, a condition that causes paralysis, and required her to relearn to walk and drive, a

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challenge she met with amazing grace and determination; and

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     WHEREAS, Throughout her life Ms. Gunnip was devoted to her faith. As a young

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woman, she had entered the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Cumberland to become a nun. She

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chose to leave the novitiate but continued to be a dedicated Catholic; and

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     WHEREAS, As the sole support for her family, Ms. Gunnip worked tirelessly, often

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holding two jobs while always finding time to love and support her children. For many years, she

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had been employed at Insight assisting those who had lost their sight, and in the evening, she

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would clean office buildings. After earning her degree at URI, she became a social caseworker,

 

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initially working with children and families impacted by abuse and neglect and subsequently

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specializing in adoptions, where “she delighted in helping children find their forever homes”; and

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     WHEREAS, In addition to her children, Ms. Gunnip was blessed with her cherished

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grandchildren, Aidan, Avery, Owen, Naomi, Kai, and Mateo; and

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     WHEREAS, Ms. Gunnip had faced many physical challenges throughout her lifetime,

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and at the age of 70, developed end-stage kidney disease, underwent triple-bypass surgery and

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received a heart valve transplant, but with her amazing strength and faith, was able to live her life

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independently for eight more years enjoying travel with her children to South Carolina, Florida,

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Ireland, the Cayman Islands and Martinique. Her final trip will be for her children to bring her

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ashes to Ireland, as her Irish heritage had always been important and a great source of pride for

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her; and

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     WHEREAS, Grace Gunnip was a wonderful and loving mother, grandmother and friend

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to many. She was “a sweet, loving person with such a kind heart and generous spirit” who

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possessed “great compassion and understanding” and “brought such light to the world” and she

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will be dearly missed; now, therefore be it.

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

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sympathy on the passing of Grace Gunnip; and be it further

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

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Jenny, Jon, and Matthew Gunnip.

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LC006008

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