EDITORIAL: #RIP Johnny Britto

EDITORIAL: #RIP Johnny Britto

Johnny Britto, the long time athletic director of the Fox Point Boys and Girls Club for about 60 years, has died at 87.

He won awards, lots of awards, like being inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Fame by the City of Providence in 2013.

But maybe the true test of the man have been the amazing personal stories that flooded social media on Tuesday from many of Rhode Island's leaders expressing their love and admiration for what he had done to help shape their lives. 

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This weren't East Side or Barrington kids on their way to private school and elite colleges. No, there were kids who were first and second-generation immigrants mostly from the Cape Verde islands.

Over and over the posts expressed their outpouring of appreciation for what Britto had done to transform their lives.

Business leaders, top executives at non-profits, thinkers and doers all expressed their love. He was the athletic director and a great coach, but his simple touch impacted all the children -- boys and girls, athletes and non.

Britto was a life changer, he simply cared and helped support children in Fox Point and the ones from the Mount Hope section who traveled over to play basketball or hangout.

He lived a tremendous life -- a life that improved the lives of thousands of children. That is the measure of a pretty good life.