Francis S. Mancini ’62 died on October 8, 2018, in Bristol, Rhode Island.
(The following appeared online at sansonefuneralhome.com in October 2018):
Mr. Francis “Frank” S. Mancini, age 77, of Silver Creek Manor, and formerly of Burton Street, Bristol, died peacefully Monday, October 8, 2018 at Silver Creek Manor, with his loving family close by. Born in Boston in 1940, he was raised in the North End and Dorchester, Mass. He was a son of the late Salvatore and Bambina (Tulliani) Mancini, both of Prezza, Italy.
Frank enjoyed growing up in the tight knit Italian community of the North End. An industrious youngster, he used his earnings as a shoe shine boy to buy himself tickets to Fenway Park, fueling a lifelong passion for the Red Sox. After the family moved to Dorchester in 1952, he developed close neighborhood friendships that remain today. Starting in seventh grade, Frank attended Boston Latin School where he played on the football and baseball teams and was president of his graduating class in 1958. In 1962, he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Bowdoin College in Maine where he was also class president, ran on the track team, was a member of the Straight “A” Club, and was later an active member of the Alumni Council. He received his master’s degree in political studies from Northeastern University in Boston in 1965 and completed additional graduate work at Columbia and Brown Universities.
A resident of his beloved Bristol since 1969, Frank began his career at Roger Williams University (then College) where he was a dedicated and engaging professor of political science until 1986. Among the first to teach at the newly formed college, Frank enjoyed his time in academia and built a strong network of friends with colleagues and students alike. Frank then took a position at the Providence Journal as a member of the editorial board where, in what could be said was his “dream job,” he happily wrote an average of five columns a week on politics, local culture, and current events until his retirement in 2002. A well-respected and enthusiastic debater, he also appeared on many local political television shows throughout his career.
Frank was an avid sports enthusiast and amateur athlete who could be seen running through Bristol and Colt State Park in his younger years, completing the Ocean State Marathon and various road races along the way. He was passionate about all sports but especially loved his Boston Red Sox—you always knew if the Sox had won the night before because Frank would be donning his Red Sox cap on his walk downtown to get the papers or to meet friends for coffee and donuts.
He was also a great conversationalist, known for his vibrant story-telling and expressive hand gestures. Always quick to laugh, he loved to “shoot the breeze” with friends and family. In Bristol, he spent many summers hanging out with the gang at Walley Street Beach, working on his tan, and teaching his kids how to enjoy the rocky shoreline and salt water waves.
Frank was a long time member and two-time past president of the Leonardo daVinci Lodge, Sons of Italy and he was honored by being named a division marshal for the Bristol 4th of July Parade in the early 1990s. Frank also wrote an extensive article on the Bristol 4th of July parade—a topic near and dear to his heart—that was published while on staff at the Providence Journal.
He is survived by two children: Mark F. Mancini (Pam) of Manhattan, New York, and Kyra M. Chamberlain (Chris) of Windham, Maine; four grandchildren: Anne Mancini, Eamon Reis, Giorgio Mancini, and Stefan Reis; former wife Janet (Ramey) Mancini Billson; and nieces and nephews Anne Marie Mancini, Charles Mancini, Linda Mancini, and Donna Mancini. He was preceded in death in addition to his parents by his older brother, Rocco A. Mancini (Eileen) of Milton, Mass., in 2005, and wife Anabel “Ann” (Fallon) Mancini in 1966.