In honor of his wife Pat, who recently passed away, John A. Tarantino will establish The Patrice A. Tarantino Memorial Scholarship to be administered by the Rhode Island Bar Foundation using the same criteria as the Thomas F. Black, Jr. Memorial Scholarship. The Thomas F. Black, Jr. Memorial Scholarship was established in 1989 to support and foster high legal practice standards by assisting Rhode Island residents who show promise that they will become outstanding lawyers and who need financial assistance to study law.
The Patrice A. Tarantino Memorial Scholarship will start awarding a $25,000 scholarship each year for 4 successive years (June 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027) for a total of $100,000. John said, “Pat worked as a teacher to provide us with income while I attended law school. Without her financial contributions, support, sacrifices and love, I would not have able to go to and get through law school. This scholarship will help law students who need financial assistance to one day become outstanding lawyers.”
Michael R. McElroy, President of the Rhode Island Foundation who announced this generous gift at the Rhode Island Bar Foundation’s Annual Meeting on June 23rd, said, “John has made an incredible commitment to our Foundation. This will be an amazing and lasting tribute to Pat’s memory. The lives of the law students who receive these awards will be forever changed by these scholarships.”
John served as President of the Rhode Island Bar Foundation from 2005 to 2011.
