Robert J. Powell, Jr

Cumberland Robert J. "Red" Powell Jr., 80, formerly of Cumberland, died Sunday at Saint Petersburg General Hospital. He was the beloved husband of Marguerite M. (Lynch) Cook Powell, and the late Claire (Chobanian) Powell. Born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, he was a son of the late Robert J. Powell Sr. and Mary T. (Powell) Powell. Red was a conductor for the former New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, now Amtrak, for 36 years, retiring in 1988 due to illness. He was a longtime communicant of Saint Aidan Church. He served his country proudly in the United States Navy during the Korean War aboard the USS Tarawa, where he was the 6th Fleet Champion Boxer. Red served the Town of Cumberland on the Town Council from 1973 to 1978 and again from 1986 to 1988, where he played an important role in the building of the Public Library. He was a member of the Democratic Town Committee for 18 years, a member of Saint Thomas Council #1472 Knights of Columbus in Cumberland, a 4th Degree Adams Assembly for the Knights of Columbus, a past president of F.O.P. Lodge #13 and a member of the Emerald Society of the Boston Police Department. He served eight years on the Capital Center Commission as an appointee of former Governor J. Joseph Garrahy. Red was a member of the International United Transportation Union A.F.L. & C.I.O., the Chairman of the International Executive Board of the U.T.U. for eight years and U.T.U liaison to the Rhode Island State Legislature for 20 years. He was Chairman of the National Conference of State Directories of U.T.U. and attended four of their national conventions. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Federal Credit Union, as well as a member of the National Association of Retired Veteran Railway Employees, Inc. Red was a Honorary Deputy Sheriff for Providence County, a member and 2nd Vice President of the Supreme Anchor Club of America and the 2nd Vice President of Railroad Local Branch of Boston and Providence. Besides his wife, he leaves three daughters, Margo M. Peterson, Nancy C. Silva, and Mary M. Coutu, a son, Robert J. Powell III, a brother, William Powell, four sisters, Theresa Pitts, Marguerite Roche, Joan-Ann Calhoun, Rosemary Mancini, and 16 grandchildren. He was the stepfather of William F. Cook, Patricia A. Davis, Kathleen Cook Wunschel, and three step-grandchildren.His Funeral will be held Friday morning at 8:30 am from the Russell J. Boyle & Son Funeral Home, 331 Smith Street, Providence. Mass of Christian Burial at 10 am in Saint Aidan Church, 1460 Diamond Hill Road, Cumberland. Burial with military honors will be in Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter. Visiting Hours, Thursday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers donations to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 11454, Alexandria, VA 22312 or the American Stroke Association, 1 Union Street, Suite 301, Robbinsville, NJ 08691 in Red's memory would be appreciated. www.boyleandsonfuneralhome.com