2011 -- S 1103 ======LC03014 ======STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2011 ______
S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
EXPRESSING PROFOUND SYMPATHY ON THE PASSING OF THE HONORABLE BRUCE GEORGE SUNDLUN
Introduced By: Senators Paiva Weed, Ruggerio, and Goodwin
Date Introduced: October 03, 2011
Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration
1 WHEREAS, It is with great sadness that this Senate has learned of the passing of The
2 Honorable Bruce Sundlun. Highly respected and often larger-than-life, he was an aviator, a
3 lawyer, a businessman, a media mogul, a teacher, a decorated soldier, a husband and father, and
4 Rhode Island's governor from 1991 to 1995; and
5 WHEREAS, Born on the 19th of January in Providence, Rhode Island, Bruce George
6 Sundlun was the first child of Jan and Walter Sundlun. He was the husband of Soozie Sundlun
7 and the father of three sons, Tracey, Stuart, and Peter Sundlun and his wife, Karen, and one
8 daughter, Kara Sundlun House and her husband, Dennis House. He was also the step-father of
9 Heather and Ray Conover and Max Dittelman, and the grandfather of four grandchildren and two
10 step-grandchildren; and
11 WHEREAS, Mr. Sundlun attended the Gordon School and Providence’s Classical High
12 School, leaving Classical after his junior year to attend the Tabor Academy. He entered Williams
13 College in September of 1938 and upon graduation, enlisted and served his country with honor
14 and distinction as a pilot during World War II; and
15 WHEREAS, In 1943, while on his 13th bombing run over Germany, Mr. Sundlun was
16 shot down over Nazi-occupied Belgium. He eventually made his way to safety after five months
17 of evading capture, during which time he connected with the Belgian Underground and joined the
18 Maquis, a branch of the French Resistance. He was later awarded the Purple Heart, the
19 Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster from the United States, and the 1 Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur from the Republic of France; and
2 WHEREAS, After returning stateside, Mr. Sundlun attained his law degree from Harvard
3 University and began practicing law. He served from 1949 to 1951 as an Assistant United States
4 Attorney, and from 1954 to 1972 as Special Assistant to the United States Attorney General; and
5 WHEREAS, From the 1960s through the 1990s, The Honorable Bruce Sundlun built a
6 reputation as a savvy and successful businessman, and in 1991, after a landslide victory, he was
7 sworn in as the 71st Governor of Rhode Island; and
8 WHEREAS, Immediately confronted with almost insurmountable challenges, then
9 Governor Sundlun learned of the collapse of the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity
10 Corp., which insured 45 banks and credit unions, on the eve of his inauguration; and
11 WHEREAS, Through his innate business acumen and strong leadership, Governor
12 Sundlun faced, calmed, and successfully resolved the banking crisis that had threatened thousands
13 of depositors with the possible loss of their life savings; and
14 WHEREAS, During his two terms as Rhode Island's governor, The Honorable Bruce
15 Sundlun also worked for the renovation and expansion of the terminal at T.F. Green Airport,
16 which was later named in his honor, led a major overhaul of the state Workers’ Compensation
17 System, and started the state’s RiteCare program; and
18 WHEREAS, The Honorable Bruce Sundlun continued to live an active and often public
19 life well into his eighties, speaking as a guest lecturer, writing, and continuing to promote
20 innumerable ideas to enhance and improve life in our Ocean State; and
21 WHEREAS, Described as “determined, driven, courageous, charming, combative, self-
22 assured, irrepressible and uncompromisingly dedicated to principle,” The Honorable Bruce
23 Sundlun will forever be remembered for his extraordinary leadership, his deep commitment to
24 serving the citizens of the State of Rhode Island and the United States, and for a life well and
25 fully lived; now, therefore be it
26 RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
27 hereby expresses our deepest sympathies to the entire Sundlun Family on the passing of The
28 Honorable Bruce Sundlun; and be it further
29 RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to
30 transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Soozie Sundlun and Family.
======LC03014 ======
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