Former Mayor Lanctot remembered for resurrecting Stadium Theatre

WOONSOCKET - Francis L. Lanctot, former City Council member and mayor of Woonsocket, died last Thursday after a hard-fought battle with cancer. The 76-year-old passed away in the hospice unit of St. Antoine Residence in North Smithfield.

The name "Lanctot" resonates in the town of Woonsocket for an abundance of reasons, whether it be in reference to the former mayor's well established political career or his daughter's appearance on "Jeopardy." But perhaps most known for his key role in resurrecting the Stadium Theatre Performing Arts Centre at Monument Square.

Lanctot's passion for the Stadium Theatre can be traced back to his days as a boy, when he told people he remembered watching the movie "The Wizard of Oz." He worked full time on a volunteer basis toward the restoration of the theater after he left his office as mayor in 1995.

"We had no heat, no sprinklers, loads of vandalism no money and a lot of cold in the Stadium that day," Lanctot told The Valley Breeze in 2005. "We didn't have one penny, and from that extremely humble beginning, we pieced together one of the finest groups of volunteers in the country who came together for the purpose of restoring the theater and they did it."

The theater re-opened in 2001. In honor of his dedication to the building and the arts, the Stadium Theatre presented its first Francis L. Lanctot Award in 2005; Lanctot was the first recipient.

Lanctot was the mayor of Woonsocket from 1989-1996 and previously served as City Council member from 1971-1987.

He was also a district manager for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company in Woonsocket and Boston, and worked for Metropolitan Life Insurance and Sherwin Williams Paint Store.

He attended Woonsocket High School and Bryant College, was an Air Force veteran of the Korean War, and was a member of the Stadium Theatre Restoration Committee and a board member of the June Rockwell Levy Charitable Foundation.

He is survived by his wife, Claire, three daughters and six grandchildren.