Class of 2011
Adelard L. Soucy (1886-1931) was said to be the most beloved figure in Woonsocket during the period of immigrant transformation in the early 20th Century. Born in Manville, R.I., the son of immigrant French Canadian parents, Adelard was one of the most prominent public figures from the French Canadian community. Said to be of remarkable intelligence, Adelard was sent to Joliette Seminary in Quebec.
In 1910, he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from Laval University. His extraordinary devotion to his course studies affected his health and he traveled to the Canadian Northwest to recover. He returned to New England in 1914 and became a journalist at the Canado- Americain in Manchester, N.H. He returned to Woonsocket that same year and became manager of the Social Realty Comapny’s business bureau.
He soon started his own real estate agency where he also sold insurance and became a notary public. Adelard served in the Rhode Island General Assembly from 1914 to 1918. He was elected Mayor of Woonsocket in 1919 and served until 1926. Sometime after 1926 he developed a serious illness which culminated in his death on July 14, 1931at the age of 45.
