Albert J. Mc Aloon

Albert Jeremiah Mc Aloon, 92, of 7 Algonquin Drive, Middletown, passed away at Newport Hospital after a brief illness on July 4, 2007. Mr. Mc Aloon, the husband of 67 years of the late Rita E. Mc Aloon d. July 4, 2005 and the son of Vincent J. Mc Aloon and Mary A. Mc Aloon, was born in Pawtucket, RI on February 15, 1915. He is survived by son Albert J. Mc Aloon, Jr. USN, Ret. of Springfield, VA, daughter Mary M. Watanabe of Los Angeles, CA and son Patrick C. Mc Aloon of Vienna, VA; grandchildren Reed A. Johnson of Kauai, HI, Hugh B. Mc Aloon of Biloxi, MS, Dana A. Watanabe of Irvine, CA, Katherine R. Mc Aloon of Alexandria, VA, Patrick O. Mc Aloon of Detroit, MI, Brendan D. Mc Aloon and Matthew P. Mc Aloon of Vienna, VA, and great-granddaughter Corey Johnson of Kauai, HI, plus numerous nieces and nephews. He was raised in Pawtucket and graduated from Saint Raphael Academy in 1933. He attended Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana and graduated from Providence College in 1938; marrying Rita Cooney in Pawtucket that same year. From 1938 to 1946 he worked for the State of Rhode Island as a Social Worker, a Probation Officer, and a Department of Labor Claims Investigator. In 1946, the family moved to Newport?s North End and he began an eight-year stretch with the State Juvenile Courts as a Prevention Coordinator. During that period he took a leave of absence for a year in 1948, to work with the Catholic Relief Services in Munich, Germany assisting Displaced Persons DP?s, who had lost everything in World War II, to begin new lives in the United States. In 1950, the family moved to the Fifth Ward in Newport, where they remained until 1970, when they moved to Middletown. In 1952, he worked with Chief Judge Francis McCabe, to create Big Brothers of R.I. to provide guidance and friendship to fatherless young boys. They also crafted a number of other programs in conjunction with the Rhode Island Legislature and medical community which continue to this day, assisting Rhode Islanders with what is now referred to as substance abuse problems. In the mid-1950s he was the Director of the City of Newport?s Health Welfare and Cemeteries Department. In 1965, he earned a Masters Degree in Counseling and Guidance from Rhode Island College and began teaching Psychology, Sociology and Criminology at Bryant College at their campus in Providence and later in Smithfield. At Bryant, a noted Business school, he was the President of the American Federation of Teachers local chapter, where he was an ardent advocate for worker?s rights. Special Federal legislation targeted at an extremely limited numbers of teachers in the United States, required him to retire in 1980. He was active in numerous Irish History and Social organizations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York, served on the Rhode Island Irish Famine Memorial Committee, and was a life member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Additionally, he was a member of the Redwood Library, served on the Middletown Town Democratic Committee, the Board of All Saints Academy and the Middletown Library Board. He followed the Boston Red Sox from the time he was a boy and enjoyed their World Series Championship as much as anybody, having waited the entire 86 years. He also enjoyed watching PC basketball. A voracious reader, he would invariably be reading two or three books at the same time. Irish History and current Irish politics were high on his list of interests, but he did not limit himself to them. He followed world events through a number of daily newspapers and the talk and news shows on radio and television. He could discuss at length, from personal experience, many and varied topics which were ?history? to most people. Funeral arrangements are by the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport, RI. A viewing will be held at the funeral home on Thursday July 12, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. in St. Lucy Church, 909 West Main Road, Middletown. Interment in St Columba Cemetery, Browns Lane, Middletown will follow the Mass. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his memory to the Middletown Rescue Wagon Association at 239 Wyatt Road, Middletown, RI 02842 or to the Rhode Island Irish Famine Memorial c/o Thomas P. Gill, at 317 Browns Lane, Middletown, RI 02842.