Rotary Club honors Rooneys for community leadership

John Howell
Posted 7/7/15

A couple that has given Warwick so much through their voluntarism and involvement were honored Thursday with an award that memorializes the leadership of Hayden M. Bentley.

The Bentley award was …

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Rotary Club honors Rooneys for community leadership

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A couple that has given Warwick so much through their voluntarism and involvement were honored Thursday with an award that memorializes the leadership of Hayden M. Bentley.

The Bentley award was presented at the club’s luncheon meeting at Chelo’s on Post Road to John and the late Irene Rooney.

The Rooneys were recognized for their work in founding the House of Hope and the Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Drive, which has raised $2 million to support local charities.

But the story of the Rooneys is also a love story.

“Miss Rowe’s English class at Hope High School is where it all began,” past president of Warwick Rotary Tom Celona said in making the presentation. Celona said John, always very resourceful, asked to have his seat moved to be closer to Irene.

“He charmed her into going out with him, and on that first date in 1950 he knew that he would marry her,” Celona said.

Following high school, John enlisted in the Marines Corps and was sent to Korea. They exchanged many letters while Irene waited for his return, and in 1955 they were married and then drove out to Camp Pendleton in California, where John completed his tour of duty. Nine months later, they returned to Rhode Island and started their family, which grew to three children and six grandchildren. They also made time to give back to the community.

The Rotary award is named for Bentley, who was a charter member of the Warwick club in 1949 and went on to become a district governor of the organization that advocates “service above self.”

The award is presented in recognition of strong leadership and excellence in a person or group in the community who are non-Rotarians, Celona said in making the presentation.

Recalling the beginnings of the House of Hope, Celona said the organization, which now runs Harrington Hall in Cranston and other shelters and provides permanent housing for low- and moderate-income individuals, started in a building that had two apartments, an office and basement where food and clothing for the homeless were stored.

“Their mission,” Celona said, “was to help the homeless, not just by giving them a place to stay but by teaching them life skills and providing employment opportunities.”

Those early days were not easy for the House of Hope. The organization struggled to make payroll. The couple ran fundraisers and oversaw operations on an almost daily basis. There was more to their community involvement.

They were active in the Warwick Junior Hockey program, where John served as president and helped coach the squirt team to the New England championship. John was also a member of the committee that oversaw the planning and construction of the Thayer Memorial Arena and the Warburton ice rink. In addition to becoming a Grand Knight of the Warwick Knights of Columbus, John served as a board member of the Warwick Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Rotary Club and the founder and owner of Communications Unlimited.

In accepting the award, John spoke of the late former Warwick Superintendent Robert Shapiro and community activist and philanthropist Peter Koch, both recipients of the Bentley award, and how he is honored to be in their company. He also talked about the Rotary Club’s involvement in the community and how, through its leadership and fundraising, it has helped support and grow the Warwick Boys and Girls Clubs, Kent Hospital, the Trudeau Memorial Center and other organizations.

And John said Irene’s support and that of his family enabled to make it happen.

In accepting the award on behalf of his mother, Kevin Rooney read from the eulogy his father delivered. He spoke of her love and kindness and a woman who loved her Catholic faith and her St. Rose of Lima and St. Clement parish.

He recalled her as a “woman who was willing to allow her husband to spread his wings in fraternity, coaching and in civic functions and always being there in full support.”

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