Dante G. Ionata

He graduated from Classical High School and Brown University. He was an avid reader, a lover of theater and the Philharmonic, and a lifelong student of American government.

After graduating from Brown in 1959, he enlisted in the Army. He attended Army Language School in Monterey, CA, where he learned Cantonese. He served in Korea and Vietnam from 1960-1964, working with Army Intelligence.

He was a reporter for the Providence Journal and the Evening Bulletin from 1967-1973, specializing in inner-city issues, public housing, urban renewal and marine fisheries.

In 1973, he became press secretary and principal speech writer to U.S. Senator John O. Pastore, who he worked for until the end of Sen. Pastore’s term in 1976.

From 1977-1980, he served as Director, Energy Capability and Management for Governor J. Joseph Garrahy of Rhode Island. Beginning in 1980, he served as the governor’s Principal Policy Associate.

In 1984, he was appointed project director at the Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Corporation, where he was instrumental in establishing a recycling program for the state. He later served as a consultant for the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation.

He served as vice president, president and later trustee of the Wood Pawcatuck Watershed Association.

After his retirement in 2002, he focused on his hobbies: travel, his garden, managing a vineyard in Hope Valley, RI, with longtime friends, and cooking. He was happiest in the kitchen, cooking for two or twenty. He enjoyed his biannual fishing trips to Vermont. He loved being with his three daughters and three grandchildren.

He was married for 55 years to Angela (Bergantini) Ionata. They were both Rhode Islanders, both Italian-American, both Democrats and both N.Y. Yankee fans. Together, they raised their daughters and enjoyed traveling, working in the vineyard and hosting dinner parties.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Angela; three daughters, Victoria Green (Vincent) of Florida, Catherine Ionata (Fernando Salazar) of New Jersey, and Laura Ionata of New York; three grandchildren, Dante and August Green and Liliana Eden Salazar; and a sister, Bernice (Ionata) Petracca of Providence. He was predeceased by his brother, John Ionata.

Visitation will be held Thursday 4:00-7:00 p.m. and Funeral Services Friday 9:00 a.m. in the PONTARELLI-MARINO HOME, 971 Branch Ave, Providence followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. in St. Raymond Church, 1240 North Main St, Providence. Burial with military honors will follow in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston. The family requests that you please wear a mask to all indoor services.

In lieu of flowers, please send a gift to Food for the Poor, www.foodforthepoor.com or the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, www.cff.org.