Sen. Roger Badeau's casket is carried out of St. Joseph Church in Woonsocket.

BY JOSEPH B. NADEAU

WOONSOCKET — Roger R. Badeau spent more than 23 years representing his hometown in the state Senate and served the city with distinction and pride during that time.

He also never forgot how he won his seat and never forgot his family, friends and constituents back home.
He was the local guy who made an impression on the people he met whether they were members of city Little League and soccer organizations or fellow senators from places like Providence, Warwick, Newport, North Kingstown and Glocester.
As Badeau’s family arrived for his funeral in St. Joseph’s Church at Chipman’s Corner Tuesday, they found out just how much of an impact he had made outside the city.
Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano headed a delegation of 33 current and past members of the Senate as honor guard on the church steps along with House Speaker William J. Murphy, members of the Judiciary and Mayor Susan D. Menard leading a delegation from City Hall.
Gov. Donald J. Carcieri and Lt. Gov. Elizabeth H. Roberts, herself a former senator, also attended Badeau’s services and sat with his family inside the church.
The city’s police and fire department color guards were also on-hand outside the church and were joined by members of the Cumberland Police Department, a community he also represented, and a detail of State Police and Capitol police officers.
It couldn’t have been any more of a state funeral for Badeau if the service had been held from the Statehouse itself.
Menard found the turnout of officials and friends to be a fitting tribute to the city’s long-serving legislator and local promoter.
“It’s certainly well-attended and he deserves all the attention people are giving him,” Menard said as she waited for Badeau’s family.  It was the way Badeau had served in his Senate post, with integrity and commitment, that drew people to honor him, she said.
“He was a wonderful man and he is going to be sorely missed,” she said.
The gathering also held Badeau’s long time local friends, people with businesses in East Woonsocket where he made his home with his wife of 49 years, Lucille, people from civic groups like the Elks, St. Joseph Veterans, and Cercle Laurier, people who had been his political peers in the old guard of the local Democrat Party like Joe Lawrence, Ron Munschy and James Allam. Badeau’s longtime Statehouse friends where also there, Thomas Roberts from North Smithfield, Richard Kearns of the city, Roger N. Begin, the former Lt. Governor and State Treasurer and Charles J. Fogarty of Glocester, another former Lt. Governor, and David Cruise of Cumberland.
 The Rev. Michael Woolley, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, was assisted in the Mass by the Rev. Lionel Blain, the Rev. Richard Desaulniers, pastor St. James parish in Manville and formerly at St. Joe’s, and Deacon N. David Bouley of All Saints Parish, all well known by the senator.
 During his homily, Woolley said many would feel Badeau’s loss because of his role as a  “good public servant” to the state. But his family would find his loss especially difficult because they were always his main focus, he said.
 “His first and foremost priorities were to be a devoted and loving husband to his wife of 49 years, Lucille, a loving father to his son Marc and daughter, Renee, and a loving grandfather to Adam, Brooke, Alexanderia and Robert,” Woolley said.
 That focus helped him make an impact on his community overall, he added.
“He epitomized the three things that make Woonsocket a great place to live, faith, family and community, “He was a model of what a Catholic family man should be and a model of what a Catholic politician should be,” he said.
 His niece, Kim Jackson, rose to offer her own thoughts on her uncle as the service neared its close and said it would be nearly impossible to summarize all that he meant to his family and friends “in a few minutes or a few words.”
 It had after all, taken a lifetime to grow his family and relationships, a process that began early on with his parents Henri and Florence, and continued with his brother, Laurent, and sisters, Constance, Vivian and Monique.
 His circle of family and support grew when he married Lucille and had his own family, Marc and Renee, she said.
 He continued to touch others over his time in work and the Statehouse and left many highlights along the way.
“When you look around here today, what you see is a measure of his accomplishments,” she said.
 She also described her uncle just the way he was. “ Roger wasn’t subtle and we liked that,” she said. “Some say Roger possessed a vocabulary that was colorful and some would say he was salty and we liked that too,” she said. “It’s safe to say he wasn’t patient either and all of these things combined to make him a powerful personality,” she said. They also gave him the strength of presence that could “fill a room” and draw people to him,” she said.
 “He showed his love to his family and friends and we readily returned it to him,” she said.
   Sen. Dominick J. Ruggerio, a member of the Senate Labor panel where Badeau had made his biggest mark in the Senate, helped the crowd set aside grief for a moment as he drew a few laughs and chuckles from them by recalling Badeau’s senate mannerisms with knowledgeable perfection.
 More than once during the start of someone’s planned testimony before his committee, the senior Senator from Woonsocket would interrupt the witness before he could start.
“Excuse me,” Ruggerio recalled him saying as the classic Badeau opener. “You’re not going to read all that stuff before this committee are you?” he would continue. If the planned testimony was in fact longer than two pages, Badeau would ask the witness to hand it over to his clerk. “She’ll make us copies and you can just go ahead and summarize your testimony,” he would add, Ruggerio said.
 Roger could also ask the questions and did not disappoint anyone with his delivery, Ruggerio said while drawing more chuckles of agreement.
 But while tough on the topic, Badeau also knew how to a gain a resolution, according to Ruggerio. “He was a great arbitrator and could put two sides of an issue together and come up with a compromise,” he said of the Labor Committee’s longtime chair.
 Even with such a love of his work, Ruggerio said Badeau remained always “a great family man,” and enjoyed most what his children and grandchildren did and the time he spent with Lucille, he said.
 “Roger was a man of integrity and honesty,” Ruggerio said of his longtime friend. On his last day in the Senate, Jan. 16, his peers knew he had not been well but couldn’t tell that day the severity of his illness.
  It only came to be known on Friday that he would lose his battle with cancer at the age of 71, and Ruggerio said he felt he had lost an idol in the process.
“Roger Badeau. He was the real deal and he will be missed by all who knew him,” he said.
 Carcieri echoed those sentiments as the service ended and the participant’s followed Badeau down the steps of St. Joseph’s in the bright noontime sun.
 “He was a long serving public servant and it was nice to see all the Senators and other state and city officials here. When someone serves with such commitment and distinction you have to honor that with this kind of tribute,” Carcieri said.
 Rep. Murphy agreed as he headed to the waiting line of cars. “I think it was a great turnout for Sen. Badeau.
“He was a great family man and an honest man and the I think the turnout today reflects that,” he said.