GRANDE

By our staff

PROVIDENCE Ñ William G. Grande, a Providence Municipal Court judge since 1993, died yesterday at home. He was 94. Grande, of 270 Mount Pleasant Ave., was believed to be the oldest sitting judge in the United States.

He was the husband of Olga (Lancellotti) Grande and the father seven children, including Superior Court Judge Corinne P. Grande. All city flags will be flown at halfstaff for a week in his memory, Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. said yesterday.

A lifelong resident of Providence, he was a son of the -late Angelo and Teresina (DiVincenzo) Grande. Mr. Grande was a graduate of Providence College and Northeastern University Law School. As a practicing lawyer for more than 68 years, he was also a Probate Court judge, a state representative, a special assistant attorney general, chief of the Attorney General's Crime Prevention Bureau, and lawyer for the Rhode Island Liquor Dealers Association.

In 1974, he founded a Providence crime-prevention program. He was a member of the Providence Plantations Lions Club, the Smithfield Lodge of Elks 2329, and the Rhode Island Hemophilia Foundation, where he was executive director and volunteer lawyer.

He was an honorary life member of the American and Rhode Island Bar Associations, as well as being a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. He was past president of the St. Bartholomew's Society, the Silver Lake Lions Club, and for 18 years served as president of the Rhode Island Hemophilia Association. He was a parishoner at St. Peter's and St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Providence.

In 1993, at the age of 87, Judge Grande was the oldest judge to ever attend the National Judicial College. Since the college was founded in 1963, it has issued certificates to more than 30,000 graduates, including U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter.

When Judge Grande was appointed to the Providence Municipal Court in 1993, this paper reported:

"He's been a lawyer since 1932 . . . He usually gets up at 6:30 every morning and shadow-boxes three quick rounds before work. "Never lost a fight yet," he says, and as of today William G. Grande becomes Providence's newest Municipal Court Judge, at an age when most people aren't just looking to retireÑ they've already done 80.

"At the swearing-in, Mayor Vincent Cianci Jr. pointedly reminded those gathered at City Hall for the ceremony that it's impossible to say just "a little something" about Bill Grande. That, said Cianci, would be "akin to saying a little something about the history of Providence and of Rhode Island over the past 65 years, roughly the time that he has been a practicing attorney. "

Cianci lauded Grande's character, calling him "an excellent pick, I've known him all my life, I supported him. He's been involved all of his life in the community. I think we made history with him. This guy's going to end up on the Donahue show or in the Guinness Book of Records.

"Bill is an active man and he likes to serve the public. He is in tiptop shape; he is not afraid of hard work, and thatÕs going to be his theme song on the court. He does not count his years. He lets his years count. "

Since 1952, Judge Grande served as a foster parent to 82 children, including 13 living in Santo Domingo, Santo Diego, Thailand, Colombia, Honduras, Nepal and Guatemala.

Besides his wife, he leaves a son, Robert W. Grande of Rye, N.H.; five daughters, Judge Corinne P. Grande of Providence, Elaine Miele of Greenville, Claudia Pagano and Elissa Grande, both of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; two brothers, Albert Grande of Waterford, Conn., and Alfred Grande of Pompano Beach, Fla.; a sister, Esther G. Reaves of Cranston; and six grandchildren. He was the father of the late William G. Grande Jr., and the brother of the late Americo, Joseph, Arthur and Amelia Grande.

A Rite of Christian Burial, memorial Eucharist, will be held Monday at 10 a.m. in the Cathedral of St. John, 271 North Main St. Entombment will be held at the convenience of the family.