EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. – On Sunday, October 4, 2026, Mayor Bob DaSilva, Council President Bob Rodericks and Council Vice President Frank Rego joined the family of the late James B. Lappin, Sr to dedicate the traffic island at Pawtucket Avenue and Centre Street in his honor.
Lappin Sr.’s impact on the East Providence community continues to be felt to this day, after he served the residents of our city for 30 years as the Superintendent of Parks, where the work he did would be recognized at a regional level in 1996 when he was honored with the New England Park Association’s John Howard Award, the most prestigious honor, only awarded to members who display exemplary and meritorious service in the park field.
“Our administration has made an exerted effort and focus on revitalizing and creating recreational and green spaces for those that are proud to call East Providence home,” Mayor Bob DaSilva said. “Jim Lappin was on the forefront of these efforts, and under his leadership many of the parks and recreational spaces that residents enjoy today were brought to life through his work, and being able to honor the legacy and stewardship of a man who gave so much to East Providence was something we were excited and proud to do,” DaSilva added.
Lappin Sr. who was born in 1928 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, joined the United States Navy after high school. Following his service to this great nation, Lappin Sr. went on to earn a degree in Agriculture from the University of Rhode Island.
After graduating from URI, Lappin Sr. would marry Catherine Beauregard, and following a brief journey in Indiana move to Rumford, Rhode Island where the two would settle and raise their four children in a home filled with love.
“Under Jim Lappin’s leadership as the Superintendent of Parks for East Providence, many of the parks we have come to love today came online during his tenure,” Council Vice President Frank Rego said. “It was an incredible honor to be able to recognize a true Townie for his years of dedicated service to our community,” Rego added.
The City of East Providence thanks the Lappin family for joining us as we honored the life and legacy of James B. Lappin Sr. with a traffic island name dedication in Rumford, the place that he and generations of Lappin’s’ called home.
