Introduced: Senators Kelly, Enos, Fogarty, Coderre and McDonald
Date: June 3, 1997
Referred: Read and passed
WHEREAS, Lincoln's town clerk from 1954-1958, the town's first administrator, serving from 1958-1960, and the senior partner in the law firm of Oster and Sawyer before retiring, Gerald A. Oster passed away last week while attending his 60th class reunion at the University of Rhode Island; and
WHEREAS, Born in Melrose, Massachusetts, a son of the late Abraham and Lillian (Edelstein) Oster, Gerald A. Oster moved to Lincoln 50 years ago and was the husband of Alice (Kutz) Oster. The father of our colleague, Senator Jonathan F. Oster of Lincoln; Robert D. Oster of Lincoln; Nancy A. Mullen of Pawtucket; and Juliann Oster of Lincoln, Gerald A. Oster also enjoyed the love of seven grandchildren. He was a brother of the late Alan Oster; and
WHEREAS, A practicing attorney in Lincoln for more than 50 years, Gerald A. Oster was recently honored by the Rhode Island Bar Association for his half century of exceptional legal practice. A president and long-time member of the Pawtucket Bar Association, he was a distinguished 1937 graduate of the former Rhode Island State College, now the University of Rhode Island. After attending the Brooklyn Law School, he graduated from the University of Maryland Law School in 1946; and
WHEREAS, An honored veteran of World War II, Gerald Oster served as a captain with the Army Corps of Engineers in both the European and Pacific Theaters; and
WHEREAS, Gerald A. Oster was a founding member of both the non-partisan Lincoln Civic League and the Industrial Development Foundation of Lincoln. A member of the Lincoln Lions Club, he was also a founder of the Rhode Island Society for Autistic Children, and was a pioneer in articulating and developing the rights of handicapped children and adults in the Ocean State. An avid golfer, Mr. Oster was a charter founding member of the Lincoln Country Club; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby extends its most profound sympathies to the family, friends and many admirers of the late Gerald A. Oster, Esquire. A gentleman deeply committed to his family, community, and the betterment of Rhode Island's most vulnerable people, he will long be remembered by everyone fortunate enough to have been touched by this very special man's commitment to others; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Mrs. Alice Oster and Senator Jonathan F. Oster.
