“He had a very even disposition, like the way he handled the storm of ’78,” she said, referring to the now iconic image of the governor – wearing a red plaid shirt – appearing fully in control of the state at the height of the “Blizzard of ’78.” The storm, one for the records books, dumped upwards of three feet of snow across much of the region, amid hurricane-force winds.
“He was a devoted family man and a very faithful Catholic,” Manning added.
Barth E. Bracy, executive director of the Rhode Island Right to Life State Committee, said the organization offered its heartfelt condolences to Margherite Garrahy and the entire family.
“Governor and Mrs. Garrahy have been part of the Rhode Island pro-life family for years,” he said, noting that their support continued long after the governor left public office.
The Garrahys live in Narragansett most of the year, and had been spending part of each winter in Florida.
At St. Thomas More Parish in Narragansett, the pastor, Father Marcel L. Taillon, said Garrahy would be remembered for “his fidelity to the church’s teachings and bringing them into the public square.”
Father Taillon said Garrahy never spoke ill of anyone.
“He remained always a graceful gentleman. He was very humble, but he always had a very strong presence in our church community.”
The governor humbly shared his lighter side when the occasion called for it.
When the parish celebrated St. Joseph’s Day last year with a dinner at the Village Inn, Father Taillon recalls the governor getting up to tell some jokes to entertain the gathering.
“He was a holy story teller,” he said. “It will be a big adjustment without him.
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Father Carl B. Fisette, assistant pastor at St. Thomas More, ministered to members of the family during his previous assignment at St. Augustine Church, Providence.
“He’s a true Christian who cared about people, from the unborn to those the Lord had called home,” he said of Garrahy.
Kevin O’Neil, a lector at St. Thomas More who sought guidance from the former governor during a bid for a state senate seat in 2010, described Garrahy as “ a great mentor,” who always put “principle before party.”
“He was lovingly pro-life and he was not shy about it. He was committed to the church’s belief in the sanctity of life,” O’Neil said.
A humorous story about the governor that O’Neil has told through the years involved a trip to 1999 trip to Ireland with his wife Chantel and his aunt and uncle.
The group stopped one day for lunch at McMahon’s Pub – which had at one time been run by Garrahy’s mother – in the town of Lahinch. As he stepped up to the bar for a pint of ale, he noticed an old photo of Garrahy standing with Sen. Robert Kennedy.