ANTHONY P. TRAVISONO

Anthony P. Travisono, age 83, gently passed away on April 4, 2009 at home surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Diana (Torregrossa); three sons, Peter and his wife Nancy Pottish, Steven, and John of RI; and two daughters, Elisa McClure and her husband Edward of TX, and Jeanne Travisono and her husband Alan Christman of MT. Anthony was the proud and active grandparent of Taylor, Matthew, Elisa, Michael, Kara, Ian, and Nathan. He also leaves his brother Everett and his wife, Claire. He was the son of Antonio and Elisa (DePasquale). Mr. Travisono was born in Providence, graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School where he excelled in football, and was 1942/43 state wrestling champion. Upon graduation he joined the US Naval Air Corps and trained to be a fighter pilot. Anthony began his career in corrections as a student volunteer at the state institutions while attending Brown University. He earned a Masters Degree in Social Studies from Boston University. He was given the Brown Class of 1950 Achievement Award and the Boston University Alumni Association Award for outstanding contribution to the field of social work. He was a member of the 455th General Hospital, U.S. Army Reserve. He served as a state social worker, rising through the ranks to become superintendent of the RI Training School and later superintendent of the Iowa Training School in Eldora. He returned to RI as Director of the Dept of Social Welfare (DSW) through appointment by Gov. Frank Licht. In 1969 he orchestrated dividing DSW into two departments; in 1970 he served as director of Mental Health and Retardation, later becoming the first director of the Department of Corrections. In 1974 he left RI to become executive director of the American Correctional Association (ACA), the national organization for correctional professionals. One of his greatest achievements was to establish standards and accreditation procedures for jails and state and federal prisons. He served on many boards and commissions, testified often before the Congress and Senate and wrote extensively about criminal justice. Upon retirement in 1991, he moved to Jamestown where he continued to serve as an international consultant for juvenile delinquency and adult prison problems. He taught and lectured at Salve Regina University, Newport, and throughout the U. S. and several foreign countries. He received the highly regarded E.R. Cass Distinguished Service award from the ACA. He thoroughly enjoyed his family, traveling, gardening, history and writing. Anthony served as Eucharistic Minister and Lector at St. Mark Church and was a 3rd and 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus 1058 Assembly and the financial secretary of St. Mark Council 9197. He was a member of American Legion Post 22. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mark Church at 11 am, Monday, April 13. A private burial will be in St. Mark Cemetery. Following Anthony's wishes, in lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory will be appreciated to the Visiting Nurse Services of Newport & Bristol Counties, 1184 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871. Visiting hours are respectfully omitted.

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