Richard "Dick" Antonelli, entered into eternal rest on Monday, August 16th. Born in Providence, RI, to Anthony & Grace (Patriarca) Antonelli, he was raised in Cranston and graduated from Roger Williams College with his A.S. in Construction Engineering. After serving in the U.S. Navy in Jacksonville, FL as director of special service activities, he continued his studies in Civil Engineering at North Eastern University and Engineering Management & Procurement at URI.
He began his professional career working for Abbot Engineering and was involved in the revitalization of the City of Boston & Logan Airport. He was then chosen to open a Rhode Island branch in downtown Providence, RI. After working for Agostini Construction as a purchasing agent, he then accepted a position at H. W. Ellis as Executive Vice President to oversee and run overall operations, bringing with him his engineering skills and experience in general contract purchasing & estimating. Eventually, Dick purchased the company and continued to operate it as the owner of a key subcontracting firm in New England until his own retirement in 2003. He was a longtime member of the Associated General Contractors and was a panel member in good standing of the American Arbitration Association. His other business interests included commercial real estate development.
Dick spent many of his years working within his community as well. He was a past Grand Knight of the St. Lawrence Council of the Knights of Columbus #2235 and a member of the Jaycees. He was involved with the North Providence/Johnston Boys Club and had been the CYO director in his youth at St. Lawrence Church. A long standing member of St. Philip’s Parish, he also did volunteer work for the Little Flower Home in Northern RI. Even with such a schedule, he was still able to devote many hours to the development and enjoyment of his principal lakeside home in Johnston and to the raising of his four children. Personal recreation activities brought him traveling and golfing to such destinations as Hilton Head Island and the Caribbean but he always looked forward to yearly vacations with his family on Cape Cod. Upon retirement, he moved to Lee County, FL, first to Cape Coral and finally to North Fort Myers where he lived out his years until his recent passing.
He is predeceased by his parents and his sister, Sylvia Wotton. He is survived by his former wife, Venance; his son Raymond and his wife, Jacquelyn and their children Kathryn, and her husband, Stephen Kilpatrick, Dominic and his wife, Maria, and Laura; his daughter, Donna Houde and her husband, Richard and their children Adrianna, Gabriel and Christopher Potter; his son Anthony and his children Alexis and Olivia; and his daughter Lisa Curran and her husband, Gerard and their children Jack, Jake and Caitlin.
His funeral will be from the Anderson-Winfield Funeral Home, Rt 44 at Greenville Common, Greenville, RI on Saturday September 4th. Visitation will be held from 8am to 9am. Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30am in St Philip Church, 622 Putnam Pike, Greenville, RI. Interment will follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Providence.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Richard may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, St. Philip Church, 622 Putnam Pike, Greenville, RI 02828.