Duncan Doolittle, a one-time candidate for lieutenant governor who was president of the South Kingstown Town Council and also a state transportation official, died on Christmas Eve.
Doolittle was 97 years old at the time of his death at a nursing home in Mystic, according to an obituary.
He had a long career at Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company in Providence.
At one point, he served as executive director of the state Department of Transportation, which was a deputy posting under a director chosen by then Gov. Edward DiPrete.
The director, Joseph Pezza, came under fire facing allegations that included charges of political favoritism. Doolittle resigned, saying he could not abide Pezza's incompetence.
A graduate of the Providence Country Day School, Doolittle grew up in Providence and in Nobleboro, Maine. He graduated from Yale University, earning a degree in modern European history and government.
A World War II veteran, Doolittle was a liaison pilot for an artillery battalion, serving in New Guinea, in the Philippines and during the initial occupation of Japan.