May 20, 2015

In Memoriam: Robert O. Tiernan, Esq. ’53; former U.S. congressman

tiernanRobert O. Tiernan, Esq. ’53, a lawyer who served Rhode Island in the U.S. Congress and the state Senate, died Oct. 15, 2014. He was a resident of South Kingstown, R.I., and the husband of the late Dorothy (McNally) Tiernan.

Mr. Tiernan was a graduate of La Salle Academy, where he played hockey, and Providence College, where he ran track and cross country. He earned a law degree from The Catholic University of America.

Mr. Tiernan was elected to the state Senate in 1960, representing Warwick. In 1967 he successfully ran for U.S. Congress to fill a vacancy left by the death of John E. Fogarty and was re-elected to three terms. In 1975, President Gerald Ford appointed Mr. Tiernan to the Federal Election Commission. After serving two terms, including one as chairman, he returned to Rhode Island to resume his law practice.

Mr. Tiernan was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2002. He enjoyed travel to Ireland and was a long-time member of the Point Judith Country Club in Narragansett.

Mr. Tiernan was the father of three sons, Michael Tiernan of Silver Spring, Md.; Christopher Tiernan of Burbank, Calif.; and the late Robert Tiernan, Jr., who died in 2004. He also leaves a brother, a sister, and many nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Oct. 21 in St. Francis of Assisi Church in Wakefield.