92, passed away peacefully Friday, January 18th. He was the beloved husband of Barbara (Auger) Papitto for 36 years. Born in Providence, he was the son of Italian immigrant parents, the late Giovanni and Maria Papitto.
Educated in the Providence Public Schools, Mr. Papitto graduated magna cum laude from Bryant College in 1947. Mr. Papitto was also recipient of Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Bryant University, Roger Williams University, New England Institute of Technology and Suffolk Law School. Ralph R. Papitto was a successful entrepreneur who founded three public companies.
At the age of 29 Mr. Papitto founded Glass-Tite Industries, a maker of glass-to-metal hermetic seals for the emerging semi-conductor industry. By 1959, the company employed over 300 people. In 1967, he founded Nortek, Inc., a manufacturer and seller of diversified home products.
Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Nortek employed 14,000 people in thirty-four states. After retiring from Nortek, in 1967 he acquired American Flexible Conduit Company in New Bedford, renaming the company AFC Cable System. In addition to his success in business, Ralph Papitto was well-known for his commitment to education.
In 1969, he joined the Board of Roger Williams University, and became Chairman in 1987. During his tenure, the small liberal arts college transformed into a university with the creation of the School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation, a School of Engineering, Computing, and Construction Management, the Gabelli School of Business, and Rhode Island’s only School of Law. In 2007, Ralph Papitto founded Read to Succeed, a program to help inner-city children improve their reading skills, combat summer reading loss, and earn college scholarships.
Ralph was a founding member of the Alpine Country Club as well as a past-president and a member of Sailfish Point Golf Club in Stuart, Florida. He enjoyed golfing, yachting and traveling with his wife. Ralph is a parishioner of Holy Apostles Church, Cranston, RI.
Besides his wife he is survived by three children, Andrea Crump and her husband Harry Crump of Bal Harbour, Fl. ; Aurelia Papitto and her husband William Young of East Greenwich, and David Papitto of Scituate, as well as three grandchildren, Heather Bell, Alexandra Papitto and Madeline Papitto and two great-grandchildren, Chloe Bell and Harrison Bell. His funeral will be held on Friday at 9 a.m. from the NARDOLILLO FUNERAL HOME & Crematory, 1278 Park Ave.
, Cranston, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at Holy Apostles Church, Cranston. Entombment will follow in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston. VISITING HOURS are Thursday from 4 – 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Read to Succeed, 6 Water Valley Rd, Hope, RI 02831.
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