Robert Paul Arrigan Memorial Scholarship Fund

Robert Paul Arrigan, Fran and Fred’s nephew, was an only child, the son of Fred’s brother. “He was so bright, and an extraordinarily cheerful child,” says Fran. “He was enthusiastic about everything he took on—tennis, roller skating, and sailing—especially sailing.”

Bobby grew up on Longwood Ave. in Providence. He insisted on going to Classical High School because it was academically strong. He ran track there—"ran like a gazelle,” says Fran—and served as president of student council. “He was always coming up with stories; if you were stuck in an elevator, you would want to be stuck with him. He would come up with some kind of engineering idea to get out or just keep you amused.”

Georgetown’s pre-med program was Bobby’s top college choice—he was a B+, A- student and he wanted to be a doctor. He was captain of Georgetown’s sailing team and every spring they have a regatta in his honor. And the sailing center at URI, where Bobby learned to sail, has been named after him.

The summer after his first year at Georgetown, Bobby worked as a road construction flagman. “On 295, he was hit. A lovely nurse that stopped at the accident scene told us he passed instantly.”

The scholarship fund in Bobby’s memory was actually started by Bobby’s father, the Honorable Robert F. Arrigan, Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court, 37 years ago, in 1985 right after Bobby died. “The school has always picked someone who has contributed to the school, not just high academics, but someone who loves the Classical community, as Bobby would have wanted it.” When Judge Arrigan died in 2013, Fran and Fred did not want the Classical award to end.

“We know we won’t be around forever, so we need to make arrangements for its continuation.” In settling Bobby’s mother’s estate, one of the lawyers mentioned the Rhode Island Foundation. “I had heard of it but didn’t realize that they did special things like this. It was the answer to a prayer.”

“We wonder what Bobby would have become—I’m sure it would have been something amazing. He died in June, a month before his 19th birthday,” continues Fran. “It’s hard to talk about him but he will be remembered through this Fund. You don’t know who it helps but he’s like a drop of water that sends ripples out.”