Ed Vilandrie, Sr., 63, of Intervale Road, Smithfield passed away September 7 after a valiant battle with Leukemia. He was the beloved husband for 40 years of Carole (Guglielmino) Vilandrie, the adored father of Jeannine Warrener of Warwick, Edward J. Vilandrie, Jr. of Boston, MA and Franconia, NH and Lauren Ashby of North Carolina, father-in-law of Mark Warrener, Martha Cavanaugh and David Ashby and cherished by his grandchildren, Avery and Nevin Vilandrie and Aidan and Cameron Warrener.
He was the son of Mildred (White) Vilandrie and the late Edward H. Vilandrie and brother of Paula Vilandrie.
Ed leaves a legacy that touched so many of us – as a community youth leader, entrepreneur, engineer, family member and friend. He was a Board of Directors member at the Smithfield YMCA for the last 25 years. He was the first President to serve the newly chartered Smithfield YMCA in 1982. He also more recently served as the YMCA’s Corporate Secretary, Treasurer and Chairman of the Capital Development Campaign. He was actively involved in youth competitive swimming and water polo including being the former President of the RI Swim Coaches Association. He had significant organizational and fund raising involvement with several other aquatic teams including Little Rhody Acquatic Club, Bishop Hendricken High School and Brown University. In addition to involvement with these endeavors, Ed most recently helped the disabled community by co-founding internet sites created to aid those with physical disabilities.
Ed was founder and President of various e-commerce businesses including launching in 1996 the first internet marketplace for wholesale commerce and trading. Prior to his e-commerce and internet endeavors, Ed was an electrical engineer at Foxboro Company from 1967 to 1987 and Elsag Bailey Company in Ohio during the early and mid nineties. He was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He was also previously founder and president of a Providence based wholesale trading firm. He graduated from Roger Williams College with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering.
The funeral will be held Saturday at 8am from the *ANDERSON-WINFIELD Funeral Home, Rt. 44 at Greenville Common, Greenville, RI with a Mass of Christian Burial at 9am in St. Michael’s Church, 80 Farnum Pike, Esmond, RI. Visitation Friday 4-7pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ed’s memory can be sent to the Smithfield YMCA Edward J. Vilandrie Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 363, Greenville, RI 02828.