Amedeo C. “Armie” Merolla, (Brigadier General, Ret.), 88, of Warwick passed away peacefully on April 28, 2017 surrounded by his loving family. General Merolla was the beloved husband of Norma H. “Kitty” (Barclay) Merolla for sixty-four years.
Born in the Federal Hill section of Providence, he was the son of the late John and Olympia (Narducci) Merolla and a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School (1947), Brown University (1951), Harvard Law School (1954), the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College. His thirty-six-year military career began as a student of Brown University where he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and later graduated from the Marine Corps Infantry Platoon Leaders’ Course at Quantico, VA. In 1955, he enlisted in the Rhode Island Army National Guard (RIARNG) in the Military Police command, and in 1957 was awarded a direct commission as a First Lieutenant, Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. Over the course of his distinguished military career, he served in the Military Police, JAG, Field Artillery, and Military Intelligence branches, including serving as State Inspector General of the RIARNG and as State Staff Judge Advocate of the RIARNG. In 1984, the United States Senate confirmed his appointment as a Brigadier General, making him the first Italian-American appointed as a General Officer in the history of the RIARNG. In 1985, he was appointed to the post of Assistant Adjutant General and Deputy Commanding General-Army of the RIARNG, in which he served until his retirement from the Army National Guard in 1987. Upon his retirement, he was appointed Commander of the Rhode Island State Defense Force and served in that capacity until 1997. In 2005, the Commander of the RIARNG appointed him to the honorary rank of Major General in the Rhode Island Militia. Among General Merolla’s numerous military awards and decorations are the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, and the Rhode Island Cross for Valor.
General Merolla was a member of the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Bar Associations for over sixty years and, at the time of his death, was the senior managing partner of Merolla, Accetturo & Lough where he practiced with his daughter Katherine and son Steven. During his legal career, he served as Judge Advocate General and Assistant Providence City Solicitor as well as legal counsel to the Rhode Island Secretary of State, the Rhode Island Public Buildings Authority, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Administration, and Congressman James Langevin. In addition, he was appointed by the Rhode Island Supreme Court to the Alternate Dispute Resolution Task Force, the Rules of Evidence Committee, the Committee for Admission to Bar, and the Committee on Clerkships. He was a former President of the Rhode Island Trial Lawyers Association, a past Member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, past President of the Board of Governors of the Rhode Island Association for Justice, and a past President of the Harvard Law School Association of Rhode Island. When asked in a recent interview with the Rhode Island Bar Journal about his most memorable experience from his law practice, he replied: “Walter Reynolds, then the Mayor of Providence, asked me to assist in an investigation and prosecution of a conspiracy which was very successful, defrauding Providence of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The criminals discovered an easy way to have Providence checks distributed to non-existent people. During the prosecution, I had to carry a snub-nosed .32, deal with 120 detectives and become familiar with the bad guys’ wiretaps in my home and office.”
In addition to his many accomplishments, General Merolla was very active in the community. He formerly served as Chairman of the Warwick School Committee, Chairman of the Warwick Bicentennial Committee, President of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Warwick (recipient of the National Man of The Year Award from the Boys Club of America), Co-Founder and President of the Warwick Figure Skaters, Trustee of St. Gregory the Great Church, President and Member of the Executive Committee of the Brown University Class of ’51, Commodore and Perpetual Member of the East Greenwich Yacht Club, Grand Knight of the Dillon Council of the Knights of Columbus, Area Chairman of the United Way, Area Chairman of the Catholic Charities Fund, and the Rhode Island Publicity Chairman for then-Senator John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign.
He is survived by his wife Norma and his four children: Katherine Merolla, Esq., and her husband Dr. George Kay; Julie Merolla MSW LICSW South Kingstown School Dept. (formerly Cranston and Warwick School Dept.) and her husband Thomas Rolin; Major Sandra Merolla (USARNG, Ret.) and her husband Major Daniel Hogan (USAR, Ret.); and Warwick City Councilman and attorney Steven Merolla and his wife Michelle (Gardiner) Accetturo-Merolla. Amedeo was the beloved Papa to nine grandchildren: Jeremy, Nicholas, Matthew, Katie, Robert, Jennifer, Brianna, Madison, and Bella. He is also survived by his brother John and his wife Elaine, four nieces, one nephew, and seven grandnieces and grandnephews.
Calling hours are Friday, May 5 from 4:00-8:00 p.m. at the Urquhart-Murphy Funeral Home, 800 Greenwich Ave., Warwick. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, May 6 at 9:00 a.m. in St. Gregory the Great Church, 360 Cowesett Road, Warwick. Burial will take place at Rhode Island Veterans’ Cemetery, 301 South County Trail, Exeter. Visit www.murphufuneralhomes.org for online condolences.
Memorial donations may be made to the Boys &Girls Clubs of Warwick and St. Gregory the Great Church.
