Celebration of Life Service for Van Leesten to be Held in Providence on Thursday
GoLocalProv News Team
Celebration of Life Service for Van Leesten to be Held in Providence on Thursday
In a post to the late Van Leesten’s Facebook page on Sunday, the family announced the following:
Hello Everyone,
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPlease join the family and friends of Michael S. Van Leesten for a Celebration of Life service
Date: Thursday, August 29 Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: First Unitarian Church of Providence 1 Benevolent Street
Providence, RI 02906
Van Leesten’s Passing
Van Leesten, who was 80 at his passing, was a leading business leader and civil rights advocate in Rhode Island for more than 50 years.
He burst on to the public sphere as a star basketball player at Rhode Island College. His athletic success put him among the best basketball players in Rhode Island history. He graduated in 1965 from RIC.
Upon graduation, Van Leesten became active in the civil rights movement. “I participated in SCLC SCOPE project in Choctaw County, Alabama with six other college students doing community organization and voter registration work. It was a defining point in my life,” Van Leesten said.
"Mike Van Leesten was my age and one of my closest friends. He spent a summer in the Movement in Alabama and I spent two years as a civil rights lawyer in Mississippi," said Malcolm Farmer, III -- a former Providence City Councilman and top corporate attorney in Providence.