Jane Folcarelli

art festival founder

Jane Folcarelli, 84, of Arnold Ave., died January 9, 2011 at the Scandinavian Home in Cranston. She was the widow of the late Giovanni Folcarelli, who served as a democratic lieutenant governor of Rhode Island from 1964 to 1966 with Republican Governor John H. Chafee. Born in Providence, Mrs. Folcarelli was the only child of the late Edwin and Alice Kiernan Walsh. She graduated from Classical High School and received an AB from Pembroke College of Brown University, where she was a member of the class of 1947. After college, Mrs. Folcarelli worked at the Naval War College. Mrs. Folcarelli spent much of her adult life in North Scituate, where she was involved in community affairs in the town and the state. She was the North Scituate delegate to the Rhode Island Democratic State Committee and a chairperson of the Scituate Democratic Town Committee. She was a past president of the Pembroke Club of Rhode Island and served on many boards at Brown University after Pembroke College was merged into the university in 1971. She was active in the Brown Alumni Association and co-chaired the committee organizing the annual pops concert. She was on several advisory boards to the Diocese of Providence. Among her major accomplishments, Mrs. Folcarelli was instrumental with former Governor John H. Chafee in overseeing the 1974 construction of a new facility for Bannister House, formerly known as the Home for Aged Colored Women in Providence. She also headed the renovation and expansion of the North Scituate Public Library. She was one of the founders of the North Scituate Art Festival when it began in 1967 and served in various capacities on the committee that ran the festival for many years. In addition, she served as president or in other capacities for St. Aloysius Guild and Nickerson House. Mrs. Folcarelli was a lifelong Red Sox fan who attended the sixth game of the 1975 World Series. It was in that game against the Cincinnati Reds that Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk famously "waved" his home run fair. That game is generally recognized as the best baseball game played in the history of the sport. She was also a lifelong bridge player. After leaving Scituate in 1991, Mrs. Folcarelli lived in Providence for 10 years before moving to Cranston, where she lived for the last nine years. For many years she was a communicant at St. Joseph's Parish in North Scituate, a lector at St. Sebastian's in Providence and a communicant at St. Paul's Parish in Cranston. Mrs. Folcarelli leaves four children, John W. of Milton, Mass., Michael A. of New York, N.Y., Thomas E. of Newport and Joseph N. of Cranston. She was the grandmother of 11. Her funeral was held Jan. 15 from Monahan, Drabble & Sherman Funeral Home, 230 Waterman St., Providence, with a Mass of Christian Burial in the Church of St. Sebastian, Cole Ave., Providence. Donations in her memory may be made to North Scituate Library Building Fund, 606 W. Greenville Rd., North Scituate, RI 02857. Condolences may be left at www.monahandrabblesherman.com.