AUTHOR’S NOTE: Edward D. DiPrete is the person most responsible for launching my political and governmental career.   That’s something that I will never forget.  Nor should I.

His career has been fully documented from its high points to the lowest points in his life.

It will not be rehashed here.  I will leave that to the journalists and historians.

This column is about some special moments that most people don’t know about and brings our readers up to date on his life.

On July 8 of this year, Ed DiPrete celebrated his 90th birthday at son Tommy’s house in Newport.

Nearly 100 DiPrete family members poured in from Alaska, California, Oregon and Texas to name a few, to celebrate this major milestone for the patriarch of the fiercely close-knit DiPrete clan.

There was fun and laughter, with a little politics thrown in, including congratulatory calls and best wishes from friends throughout the state and a special citation from the College of the Holy Cross, his alma mater.

A fitting tribute to the guy that used to drive his family from coast to coast in a 27-foot Winnebago.

The governor doesn’t pop around like he used to (he loved frequenting our state’s terrific restaurants), but other than mobility issues that cause him to walk with a walker, he feels great and still sharply remembers times and dates, and even who sat where at the meeting.

One of my favorite stories about our former governor puts the whole thing in perspective.

“Dad!!!!!!  The White House is on the phone!”, came the call from his daughter as he was about to step into the bathroom to take his morning shower.

“Tell them I’ll call back!” came the reply from the Rhode Island governor.

The response from the White House operator? 

“I won’t be able to interrupt the vice president (then Vice President George HW Bush).  He will be in a meeting with President Reagan and (Soviet) General Secretary Gorbachev.”

So it went for Rhode Island’s 70th governor.

Here’s the governor from our nation’s smallest state on the doorstep of history, or perhaps even one of the most important days in history (when President Reagan and Secretary Gorbachev were starting the process for the massive and unprecedented reduction of nuclear arms) and our governor was so friendly with Vice President Bush, that he felt comfortable “just calling him back later.”

Heady stuff.

But if you know Ed DiPrete, you know that he is, and has always been, a regular guy. No phony airs about him. What you see is what you get. A guy that drove around in a Winnebago is the same guy who was extremely friendly with the most powerful man on the planet.

Edward D. DiPrete was born on July 8, 1934, in Cranston.

The son of Frank A. (a carpenter and home builder), who came to the country, as so many did, from Italy at the age of 5, and Mary (Grossi) DiPrete, a homemaker and devoted mom.

Ed attended Cranston schools and then graduated from LaSalle Academy in Providence in 1951.  He would continue his studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts (he still has Holy Cross purple blood running through his veins), where he received a Bachelor of Science in marketing in 1955.

A year later, he would marry the love of his life, the former Patricia Hines, on Aug. 18, 1956.

“Pat,” a registered nurse, would be at his side for 55 years, until she unfortunately passed on July 28, 2011.

Ed was commissioned in the United States Navy, retiring after service in the Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant Commander.

Along the way he would see active duty on the US Tulare, then the Navy’s newest attack cargo ship based in San Diego and Japan, and the USS Outpost, a radar picket ship fortuitously based in Davisville, Rhode Island.

He wasn’t alone in the DiPrete family’s service to our country.  His father served in the Navy during World War I, and three of his four brothers served on the seas as well.

 Along the way, Ed and Pat were blessed with seven children:  Ed Junior, Dennis, Nancy, Tricia, Mary Ellen, Kathleen and Tom.

They would also experience the joy of 20 grandchildren and now six great-grandchildren.

Starts insurance business

He would launch his business career in the insurance industry, with a location that few people could miss on Reservoir Avenue in Cranston, near Park Avenue.

In 1970 he was hit with the political bug and launched what would be a 20-year career in politics and government.  His first election was to the Cranston School Committee, which would be followed by a second term, this time serving as the Committee’s chairman. He would then be elected to the Cranston City Council, which provided the launching pad for his successful campaign to be the city’s mayor.

By all accounts his time as mayor was extremely successful.

He would use that success on his campaign for governor, and in 1984, on his first try (extremely difficult for a Republican) won handily. His reelection was even more noteworthy, as his margin of victory was believed to be if not the largest, then certainly one of the largest victories for any Republican in modern times.  He would serve a third term, until his successor (Gov. Sundlun) was sworn in in 1991.

Other than his obvious love for family, I asked him what he thought were his biggest accomplishments as governor.

With no hesitation, he rattled them off: “The creation of vast amounts of open space, so our fellow Rhode Islanders could enjoy the beauty of our state and protect its heritage. The renovation of Scarborough Beach, and four personal tax reductions in my first two years.”

“I think we had the lowest unemployment rate in the state’s history – settling around 2.8% or 2.9%.  We also appointed more women to the judiciary than ever before.”

Not a bad record to say the least.

I couldn’t resist shifting the conversation to politics, something he enjoys talking about.

Like the time that he was sitting in then Vice President Bush’s kitchen in Kennebunkport, Maine, helping plan Mr. Bush’s presidential campaign with a few top aides.

Or meeting the countless global movers and shakers, but none as exciting to him as meeting “Teddy Baseball,” otherwise known as Red Sox slugger Ted Williams.

Along the way he received awards and citations that would fill a room.  All appreciated but not dwelled upon.

Politics today

He doesn’t like the tone of today’s politics.

“It’s more combative today than it was during my mayor days and governor days.”

He relished the fact that he could sit in a room, one on one with then Speaker of the House Matty Smith and “work out problems to the satisfaction of both sides.”

I also asked him what he thought of the current state of the Republican Party in Rhode Island.

He said simply, “where there’s life, there’s hope.”

Switching to Cranston’s hard fought mayoral primary, he mentioned that primaries can be helpful to both sides if the candidates are “credible and enthusiastic.”

He added, “Ken Hopkins is a solid leader. Cranston has a reputation of being a well-run city.”

He was circumspect about our national state of politics and added, “there is not enough give and take in a friendly way. Now there’s too much finger-pointing. It’s hard to get things done.  All or nothing never bridges the gap.  We’re all elected by the people.”

Finally, I asked him how he would like to be remembered.

He said simply, “as a governor who worked very well with both political parties for a better Rhode Island, and who achieved that goal.”

 --If you wondered if they still have the Winnebago, they do not.

But son Tommy, an attorney who lives in Newport, has a nice sized boat that can properly accommodate the family for those special events.

While I was leaving our meeting at his condo in Chapel View, Tommy walked with me and said, “You know why my dad kept the Winnebago and drove us everywhere as a family, don’t you? It was to keep the family tight.”

That’s a legacy he wants to help continue.