Colleen Kelly Mellor and “View from 80+”

Some of you know me as a feature story writer and monthly columnist (in the Op-Ed’s) for the Prov Journal. To some, I’m your neighbor who lived in Cranston (Edgewood) and now lives in Warwick (Cowesett). Some among you had me as teacher in Park View, Hugh B. Bain, or Cranston East. If you were an inmate at the Women’s division of the ACI, you met me, for I volunteer/taught you writing skills one memorable summer. Some of you know me as an author of 4 books. Finally, some of you recognize me as advocate for Caregivers and Veterans. In that capacity, I speak to audiences about how one can survive and even thrive as Caregiver to a loved one with cognitive disability, based on my newest book “Az and Me: A Partner’s Journey with Alzheimer’s.” 

My column– “View from 80+”– will be my observations on life from my unique octogenarian perch. Why am I perfect for this message? Because I’ve “lived large” over the years; I made costly mistakes—mistakes I want you to avoid. 

Have no fear…My articles will have humor (where appropriate) because we Boomers are a funny lot (Don’t listen to the negatives, usually by folks who don’t enjoy our versatility.)

So, come on… find me on the pages of the Warwick Beacon…Cranston Herald…Johnston Sunrise and Coventry Reminder and you just might learn useful information and because I package my columns in a way to keep your attention (remember–I taught squirmy kids of 12-17 years of age for 30 years), I think you’ll be entertained at the same time.

So, see you on the pages of Prime Time…and here’s my 1st column…

Two Women Who Shattered the Glass Ceiling in RI Courts

Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2024, failed to break the elusive glass ceiling when they lost their respective US presidential election bids, much to the chagrin of many.

Recently, hope rose again with the emergence of two women who ran for governor in their states—Mickie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger, in Virginia. Both handily defeated their opponents and both have given rise, again, to hopes a woman can pursue and win the highest offices in the land.

In judiciary circles in Rhode Island, Florence K. Murray, Associate Justice of the RI Supreme Court and Alice Gibney, Chief Justice of the RI Superior Court, quietly broke a glass ceiling years before.

Shared Background

Because Alice Gibney and I are former high school classmates, (I’m two years older) and because I was so intrigued to learn of her life journey, (far different from most of the women of our generation), I invited her for coffee, when I read that she was retiring after 44 years on the bench. I wanted to know what prompted her to take a path so different from what most women of our generation followed.

We hadn’t seen each other in 67 years, a fact we both noted, wondering how in our little state, two people could go all those years without seeing each other. Even stranger? We live in the same town.

No matter, our conversation in a booth at Panera, East Greenwich, flowed effortlessly, as if no years had intervened.

The Beginning

Alice Gibney and I grew up the 50’s and 60’s, raised in West Warwick, a blue-collar town during a period when America enjoyed prosperity and optimism, following WWII. Our town saw its 14 textile mills working at full capacity, producing the cotton, velvet, and lace that would be shipped all over the country and the world. Fruit of the Loom had its origins in our town.

Alice and I came from families who believed that education was the means to success in life. Her parents were teachers in town, while my father was principal of John F. Deering High School (now West Warwick High School).  My own mother was a homemaker.

But my family was more conventional in that my father (like so many of his generation) believed women who pursued higher education, should become teachers or nurses. My brothers became a lawyer and a doctor, while I became a teacher.

Alice and I were both from Irish, Catholic families. My grandparents had come from England and Ireland, while Alice’s father left his homeland of Ireland in his 20’s. Her parents met at the school where they taught, West Warwick Junior High, across from what is now the complex of condominiums resurrected from the former Royal Mills.

So, the similarities? Families committed to education…Irish/Catholic ancestry…shared childhood experiences…hometown roots. But the similarities end there, for Alice grew up in a family where she was encouraged to pursue whatever career path intrigued her.

Alice Saw No Gender Limitations

Alice visited her grandfather, Raoul Archambault, on Saturdays and while there, she noted her his clients (he was a lawyer) bringing baskets of produce, if they couldn’t afford usual payment means. She saw that her grandfather was respected and appreciated. This prompted Alice to consider: “Being a lawyer might be a really nice career.”

Alice went from high school to Rhode Island College and then to Catholic University Law School where she got her JD. Following that, she clerked for Justice Florence Murray of Superior Court, the first woman appointed judge in Rhode Island, one of only 50 in the nation. Murray had joined the RI Superior Court in 1956 and became its chief justice in 1978, presiding over jury and non-jury trials of criminal and civil cases.

In 1979, Judge Murray was selected by the General Assembly for the state’s top court—the Rhode Island Supreme Court—a nine-justice court that hears appeals from lower courts. In that capacity, Murray authored more than 500 opinions from 1978-1996.

Alice started her career in private practice with two different law firms and did a stint as an assistant US attorney. In 1982,  she served in Workmen’s Compensation Court, as Commissioner.

In 1984, she followed in Murray’s footsteps and became a judge on the Rhode Island Superior Court. In 2009, she was appointed presiding justice of that court.

Throughout her years on Superior Court, Alice’s duties ran the gamut from signing a warrant that initiated the search of 15-year-old suspected killer Craig Price’s Warwick home to overseeing innumerable medical malpractice cases. She led the court’s mediation program for 14 years. She presided over the Station Nightclub Fire trials and was the deciding factor in denying former Governor Gina Raimondo’s hoped-for access to secret Grand Jury testimony in the state’s lawsuit over 38 Studios.  

Their ascendancy in the judiciary is all the more exceptional in that, until 1974, women lacked basic rights. For example, women couldn’t get approval for credit cards, mortgages, or loans, and if they did apply, they needed a male to co-sign. And women were discriminated against in work situations.

There were few women on the RI judicial bench. One who stood out to Gibney was Superior Court Judge Corinne Grande, a smart, soft-spoken, tough woman whom Gibney notes had the ‘voice of a seductress.’ 

Murray’s ruling in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974 and later the Pregnancy Discrimination Act were critical for ensuring women’s rights.

Florence Murray (since deceased) retired from her position on the Supreme Court after 40 years and Alice Gibney recently retired (Oct. 31, 2025) as Chief Justice of the Superior Court, after 44 years.

Alice is married to retired District Court Public Defender Robert (Bob) Parrillo who made criminal defense his realm. Bob is an accomplished stone carver who considers Alice his “muse.” Their son, Nick Parrillo, now follows the family tradition, and sits on the state district court.

But Alice, and Florence before her, are judicial legends who paved the way for other women to rise in the legal field. Together, they didn’t just break their states’ glass ceiling…

With a combined 84 years of jurisprudence, they shattered it.

Colleen Kelly Mellor (colleenkellymellor.com) followed a more traditional path for her generation of women, teaching Cranston students for 30 years. She is a former feature writer and monthly columnist for Providence Journal and she is the author of four books.