Versatility of accomplishment is a notable feature of the comparatively brief career of Donat P. Fortier, of Warren, who has not only shown himself to be a good business man and a qualified and practical telegrapher, but has also acquitted himself creditably in public office and in the military service. All of these have covered a period of less than twenty years and in all of them there has been that strenuous application of mind and sound judgment that is all too rare but none the less essential to complete achievement. It is gratifying that Rhode Island possesses citizens of the value of Mr. Fortier, whose qualities have brought the admiration of the community and set him firmly in the high regard of a large circle of loyal friends.
He was born in Warren, November 4, 1893, a son of George and Alvina (Jeffery) Fortier. After an education in the public schools he entered the service of the Warren Manufacturing Company. He became an adept telegraph operator and in that capacity was employed by the Union Pacific Railroad for a time and then by the New York, New Haven and Hartford. He returned to Warren in 1921 and established himself in business, conducting a bowling alley and ice cream enterprise. In 1922 he was elected to the State Legislature from Warren and later to the town council. In 1917 he displayed his prowess in athletics by indulgence in baseball, having been a member of the Interstate League. During the World War he was a soldier in Company B, 314th Infantry, 79th Division, and saw service in France with the American Expeditionary Forces. He is a member of the Lions Club and the Fraternal Order of Eagles and attends the Roman Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist.
Donat P. Fortier married Rose D. Dellaire.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 3 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.