2026 -- H 8565

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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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 BURTON

STALLWOOD

     Introduced By: Representatives Shallcross Smith, Blazejewski, Kazarian, Chippendale,
Paplauskas, Santucci, Ajello, Fogarty, Shanley, and Spears

     Date Introduced: May 19, 2026

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, It is with deep sadness that this House of Representatives has learned of the

passing of the Honorable Burton "Burt" Stallwood, of Fairfax, Virginia, and formerly of Lincoln,

Rhode Island. He was the beloved husband of the late Jane Stallwood; and

     WHEREAS, Burton Stallwood was born in 1939 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, the son of

the late Harold and Margaret Stallwood. He graduated from Tolman High School in Pawtucket,

and later graduated from Johnson & Wales University, where he earned an Associate Degree in

Business Administration, and later attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at

Harvard University, where he completed a program for senior executives in state and local

government; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Stallwood served our nation with honor and distinction as a member of

the United States Air Force, beginning in 1960, attaining the rank of Senior Airman prior to his

honorable discharge. After completing his military service, Mr. Stallwood returned to Rhode

Island and established and operated the highly successful Stallwood Insurance and Real Estate

Agency from 1964 to 1972; and

     WHEREAS, In 1973, Burton Stallwood was elected to serve as the Town Administrator

of Lincoln and served the citizens of Lincoln in that position for 28 years with tireless devotion

and abiding integrity. As the longest-serving municipal chief executive in the Town's history, he

guided the Town to greater growth, nurtured a strong business climate within the Town, created a

safe environment for people to work, play and raise families, and was widely admired for his

incredible work ethic and stellar leadership skills; and

     WHEREAS, Following his municipal service to the Town of Lincoln, Mr. Stallwood was

nominated by President George W. Bush in June of 2002, to serve as United States Marshal for

the District of Rhode Island. Mr. Stallwood was confirmed by the United States Senate on August

1, 2002, and proceeded to serve our nation with distinction for seven years; and

     WHEREAS, Throughout his long and distinguished public service career, Mr. Stallwood

lent his time and talents in support of numerous charitable, civic and governmental entities. He

was actively involved in the Rhode Island Jaycees (Junior Chamber), serving as the President of

the Rhode Island Chapter and later served as their National Vice President. He was later awarded

the designation of JCI Senator, a national lifetime honor awarded by the Junior Chamber

International in recognition of his outstanding leadership and sustained service; and

     WHEREAS, Throughout his long and distinguished career, Mr. Stallwood held numerous

positions of great influence at the state and national levels to include serving on the Board of

Directors of the National League of Cities, the Governor's Growth Planning Council, the

Governor’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Appointments, as an Executive Board liaison to the

Governor through the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, the Rhode Island Solid Waste

Management Corporation, and the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley Heritage Corridor

Commission. Mr. Stallwood also served as a delegate with the United States Envoy to the Baltic

States Foundation, where he helped teach the principles of democracy to the emerging leaders of

the newly democratic Baltic States; and

     WHEREAS, Locally, Mr. Stallwood was an active member of numerous organizations

including the Blackstone Valley Historical Society, Save the Bay, the Knights of Columbus, the

American Cancer Society, and the Rhode Island Zoological Society; and

     WHEREAS Mr. Stallwood was an active Republican who served the party on the

national level, including chairing the Rhode Island Reagan-Bush Election Committee, serving as

a delegate to the Republican National Convention, and on the Republican National Platform

Committee; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Stallwood received many honors in recognition of his esteemed public

service life, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from Johnson & Wales University, and

induction into the Cumberland-Lincoln Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame. Mr. Stallwood was also

honored officially by the State of Rhode Island with proclamations proclaiming October 26, 1998

to be "Burton Stallwood Appreciation Day" in the State of Rhode Island, and "Burt Stallwood

Recognition Day" on May 6, 2001; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Stallwood was a man of deep Christian faith and was heavily involved

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in the church life of his community, particularly at St. Ambrose Church in Albion, where he

served as a Eucharistic Minister and Parish Trustee. In 2017, he was honored with the Lumen

Gentium Award for Public Service, presented by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, in

recognition of his lifetime of faithful and ethical public leadership; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Stallwood is survived by his three children, Scott Stallwood and his

wife, Becky, Gregg Stallwood and his wife, Gail, and Tracey Gardiner and her husband, Ed,

along with his grandchildren, Patrick Stallwood and his wife, Christina, Emma, Elise, Tyler and

Cassie Stallwood, Elena Poole and her husband, Channing, John Gardiner and his wife, Sarah,

Elizabeth Salazar and her husband, Alex, and Ward, Colson and Erin Gardiner. Mr. Stallwood

also leaves behind his great-grandchildren, Nina, Edie, Rhodes, Josie, James and Abigail, as well

as his sisters, Carol Miles, Margaret Stallwood and Deborah Stallwood. He was the brother of the

late Harold Stallwood Jr., and Kathryn Kitchen; now, therefore be it

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

expresses its deepest condolences to the Stallwood Family on the passing of the Honorable

Burton Stallwood; 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 Scott Stallwood, Gregg Stallwood and Tracey

Gardiner.

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