Florence M. Pagliarini

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Florence M. Pagliarini, 88, passed away peacefully with her family by her side at the Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center on March 5, 2019. Formerly of Cranston, she was a resident at The Village at Waterman Lake. She was the wife of the late John V. Pagliarini.

She was a daughter of the late Caesar R. and Harriet M. (Nicolardis) Piacitelli. She was a graduate of Cranston High School East and earned a degree in English Literature from the Rhode Island College of Education in 1952. Florence was an elementary school teacher for 35 years, most notably at Eden Park School in Cranston. She also taught at Knight Street School, Ralph Street School and Garden City School, and was a long-term substitute teacher at Stadium School and Woodridge School. She was a co-operating teacher for the Cranston College Students’ Internship Program and the first teacher selected to lead the Cranston Gifted Students Program. Upon retirement she worked for 20 years at the former La Bottega in Johnston. For many years Florence served as a member of the Cranston Library Board of Trustees and was a board member of the Black Ships Festival. She and her husband John were the 2018 recipients of the Thomas McGovern Humanitarian Award from The Natasha Love Foundation for their lifetime commitment to the arts and education in Rhode Island.

She is survived by her daughter Karen E. Pagliarini and her husband Allan Ferrara of Coventry; and her son John R. “J.R.” Pagliarini and his wife Lyn of Warwick. The family also wishes to express its deepest gratitude to her personal assistant Amy Mintel for her constant love and support over the past nine years.

Her funeral will be held from the Woodlawn Gattone Funeral Home, 600 Pontiac Ave, Cranston on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 9a.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. from Immaculate Conception Church, 237 Garden Hills Drive, Cranston. Visiting hours will be Tuesday, 4-8 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in memory of Florence may be made to the ALS Association Rhode Island Chapter, 2374 Post Road, Suite 103, Warwick, RI, 02886-2270. www.alsari.org