Update: At 103, RI House doorkeeper DiPaolo bows out

Published June 9, 2010 at 10:50 p.m.
Journal photo/ Connie Grosch
House doorkeeper Frank DiPaolo Jr. at 103.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Centenarian Frank DiPaolo Jr., retiring doorkeeper of the state House of Representatives, grinned and gave a jaunty thumbs-up as House Speaker Gordon Fox on Wednesday bestowed on him the title of Honorary Speaker of the House.

DiPaolo, 103, impeccably dressed in a navy three-piece suit and polished shoes, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Fox and U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, whom DiPaola calls "my third son."

Moments earlier, DiPaolo and Kennedy stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a back room crowded with friends and reporters, sharing memories and trading friendly barbs.

Kennedy, who has known DiPaolo since he was a student, described DiPaolo as one of his most trusted advisers and friends since he sought his first elective office in the General Assembly in 1988.

For his 100th birthday, DiPaolo said, Kennedy flew him to Washington to meet with former President Bill Clinton.

Kennedy presented DiPaolo with a framed certificate thanking him for his service signed by President Obama.

"Just a minute," DePaolo said, blue eyes twinkling. "I'm retiring now but who knows -- maybe a month from now or two months from now I may be getting a bit itchy..."

Inside the House chamber, as Fox spoke about the man he called "a living legend," DiPaolo bowed his head and wiped his eyes.

"After 32 years of working up at the State House as a doorkeeper,'' he said, "it is now time for me to end this chapter in my life and start thinking about what to do next."

DiPaolo has been involved in politics during 15 gubernatorial campaigns and 30 General Assembly elections, according to a General Assembly news release.

Video: Patrick Kennedy and friend, mentor Frank DiPaolo Jr., on Election Day 2008.

Although he has two hearing aids and walks a bit slower than he used to, DiPaolo still has plenty of energy and drove himself to work every day.

DiPaolo has been involved in politics for 80 years, playing an integral role in the career of Kennedy, who two years ago called him a man of "great humility" who has served as a mentor in his life. "I don't find a lot of people like that in my world," Kennedy said. "I grew up in a world of great superficiality and posers of people who want to be your friend because of who you are, but Frank is an authentic person who is real salt of the earth."

DiPaolo got his start in politics at age 22 when New York Gov. Alfred Smith came to Rhode Island to campaign for the presidency. DiPaolo rented two open-topped Packard cars to the campaign. Smith ultimately lost to Republican Herbert Hoover, but DiPaolo got the political bug and has been hooked since.

As a student at Providence College, Kennedy first got to know DiPaolo, who used to own the Castle Spa restaurant, where Kennedy would stop in for breakfast. DiPaolo introduced Kennedy to the neighborhood, its political leaders and threw Kennedy his first fundraiser when he first ran for a seat in the Rhode Island House of Representatives Kennedy made DiPaolo campaign treasurer because, by law, his name had to be on all the literature. "Because he was such a beloved figure, I wanted to make sure everyone knew he was supporting me," Kennedy said in a 2007 interview.

The two men became close friends and Kennedy even lived with DiPaolo and his late wife, Eugenia, before getting a house of his own. To this day, DiPaolo often calls Kennedy his "number-three son."

DiPaolo started work as a doorman in the Senate, but after Kennedy's election in 1988 he shifted to the House.

DiPaolo was born in Providence and now lives in North Providence. He and his wife had four children: Evelyn Doherty of Rumford, Thomas DiPaolo of North Providence, Claire Berkmaier of North Scituate, who now works for the state Senate, and the late Richard DiPaolo. There are also 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

-- The original version of this report was published at 10:59 a.m. and updated at 1:30 and 5:40 p.m.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Lynn Arditi

Back | Read more at Projo News Blog