Colleagues and friends bid farewell to RI Senate President Ruggerio at funeral service

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Late Rhode Island Senate President Dominick Ruggerio was laid to rest Monday.

“It’s a sad day, this whole entire week when we learned about his passing the day after Easter,” Rhode Island Senator Leonidas Raptakis said.

On Monday, colleagues and friends gathered at Saint Anthony’s Church to honor the life of Ruggerio, who died on April 21 after a battle with cancer at the age of 76.

“I served with President Ruggerio since I was first elected to senate in 1997,” Raptakis said. “He was very kind to everyone. He had an open-door policy and would work with you. If it was legislation that was very important he would work with you, and he was a man of his words. Whatever he said he kept his promise, and it was important not only to the people of Rhode Island but to his district.”

His funeral procession stopped by the State House one last time, where Ruggerio served for more than 40 years.

During that time, Ruggerio earned the trust of his colleagues, eventually serving as the majority leader starting in 2010 and senate president in 2017.

“It is sad to see someone, after so many years, that we lose a hero, a statesman, and that’s what he truly was,” Raptakis said.