‘He lived to help his brothers and sisters’

“He would have been embarrassed by all this,” John Macomber, a former Coventry High School teacher and coach, said of his late friend and fellow Patriot Guard Rider Thomas A. Poole. “He was just a regular guy.”

Barbara Derdeen, who replaced Poole as the state captain for the highly acclaimed Patriot Guard Riders, offered: “Tom did anything and everything all veterans needed. It was an extremely huge loss for this entire state, losing him.”

That’s also the way Anthony DeQuattro – a Johnston native and founder of Operation Stand Down Rhode Island (OSDRI), located at 1010 Hartford Ave. – felt about Poole, his best friend, fellow U.S. Marine and a man who dedicated his life to helping others.

On Monday, in Poole’s honor, the recently refurbished and expanded Veterans Complex at OSDRI was officially named the Thomas A. Poole Veterans Service Center.

Rhode Island’s entire congressional delegation – U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and U.S. Reps. James Langevin and David Cicilline – joined Lt. Gov. Dan McKee, Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, and other dignitaries who headlined what Citizens Bank’s Kathy O’Donnell called a “very, very special day in the history of Operation Stand Down Rhode Island.”

While each and every speaker praised OSDRI in its ongoing work to help homeless and at-risk veterans in the Ocean State secure stable housing and other assistance, Poole was lauded as a “full-time volunteer” who DeQuattro said “loved and lived to help his brothers and sisters.”

“He was my best friend,” DeQuattro said. “He spoke up when he needed to when it came to helping his fellow veterans. He was a staple in the Rhode Island community helping thousands of his brothers and sisters with their disability claims and giving endless hours to Operation Stand Down … If a man is judged by what he gives of himself versus what he asks for himself, Tom was truly a great man. He brought a certain spirit and passion to everything he did. He touched thousands of lives, and we can never thank him enough for his contribution to the veteran community.”

And that’s why DeQuattro – who after graduating from Johnston High School served in the U.S. Marine Corps – said OSDRI’s officers and Board of Directors voted unanimously to dedicate the Thomas A. Poole Veterans Service Center.

What DeQuattro didn’t know Monday was that the veterans complex he helped secure funds to expand was going to be named in his honor.

Erik B. Wallin, Esq., OSDRI’s executive director, announced the dedication of the Anthony DeQuattro Veteran Complex.

“Tony is richly deserving of such a great honor,” Polisena said. “As mayor, it is a distinct honor to recognize such a devoted, deserving organization that assists our veterans, and to have it located in Johnston. We’re honored that OSDRI calls our town home and extremely proud of what a native son like Anthony DeQuattro continues to do for all our veterans.”

Upon returning to Rhode Island after his military service, DeQuattro earned an associate degree in business administration from the Community College of Rhode Island. He then entered into state service and retired after 28 years as a senior real estate specialist for the Department of Transportation.

“His life has been dedicated to community service and civic engagement,” Wallin said of DeQuattro. “While he dedicated most of his life to serving fellow veterans, it was back in 1993 when he along with fellow Vietnam era veterans founded Operation Stand Down and he has served as president and chairman of the board ever since.”

DeQuattro lives with his wife Winnie in Cumberland, and has five children and three grandchildren. He continues to dedicate his life to improve the lives of veterans through his advocacy and work with OSDRI – just as Thomas A. Poole did until he passed away in July.

Poole is survived by his wife Deanna, his children and stepchildren, and his sister Renee Cutone.