Biography of Marie J. Parente
Marie J. Parente served the 10th Worcester District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 26 years from January, 1981 to January, 2007. Her district included the towns of Hopedale, Mendon and Milford. Originally the district comprised the towns of Milford, Medway and Upton. Later after redistricting occurred, the district changed to Milford, Mendon, Hopedale and Precinct 1 in Blackstone. Following another change, the district lost part of Blackstone and gained Precinct 1, Bellingham. After the 2000 census and subsequent redistricting, a gain in population resulted in the loss of that one precinct and the district came to resemble it's present configuration.
In February, 2005 Parente was appointed Vice-Chair of the powerful House Committee on Rules. She also served on the Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling, and the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. She previously served as House Chair of the House Committee on Long Term Debt and Capital Expenditures from 2001-2004, and before that as Chair of the Committee on Local Affairs, a post she held from 1996 to 2001. She was also Chair of the Special Legislative Committee on Foster Care and served as Chair of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Foster Care's Sub-Committee on Parents, Foster Parents and Foster Children. She previously served as House Chair of the Joint Committee on Federal Financial Assistance from 1995 to 1996. Parente has been recognized over the years for her commitment to the needs of people suffering from mental illness and their families. She has served as a member of the Governor's Mental Health Action Project and the Special Committee on the Needs of the Mentally Ill. She is a past Chair of the Caucus of Women Legislators. In addition, Parente served as Chair of the State Library Board of Trustees, and was a member and former president of the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators. She holds both a Bachelor's and Master of Science degrees in Human Services from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Marie Parente is married to Francis A. Parente, a real estate broker. They have two children, Christopher M. Parente, a Babson College graduate, and Angela Brucato, a registered nurse. Parente has three grandchildren: Lisa Marie Brucato, Charles J. Brucato III, and Mary Ellen Getz, and three great-grandchildren, Georgia Ann and Grace Brucato and Maddy Burns. Parente is also very proud of her family's strong history of military service to the United States. Her four Italo-American brothers served in two branches of the military: three in the United States Navy during World War II, and one in Korea as a member of the United States Army.
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Updated January 9, 2007