Statement on the Passing of Edna O’Neill Mattson
| By Joseph M. McNamara, Chair of the R.I. Democratic Party |
| WARWICK, R.I. (March 23, 2020) – “It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we’ve learned today of the passing of Edna O’Neill Mattson,” said Rhode Island Democratic Party Chair Joseph M. McNamara. “Edna was our state’s Democratic National Committeewoman for decades and a legend for her fiery red hair and fiery personality, and her service to community. If the late Senator Ted Kennedy was the Lion of the Senate, then she surely was the Lioness of this state’s Democratic Party,” McNamara said. “Everything Edna cared about, she cared deeply about: her beloved family, the Community College of Rhode Island, the Democratic Party, the Navy Relief Society and American Red Cross. She was the first woman Democratic town chair, a charter member of the state Democratic City and Town Chair Association, and a delegate to every National Democratic Convention since 1976,” he said. “Edna proudly served this party her whole life, and fittingly ended it as our state’s Democratic National Committee woman,” McNamara. “We will miss her: there will never be another Edna.” |