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First Posted: 2/8/2014 PITTSTON &#8211; He&#8217;ll be marching in spirit.
The late Paul F. Leonard, a local funeral director and past Man of the Year of the Greater Pittston Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, was posthumously named Grand Marshal of the Greater Pittston St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade set for March 8.
Leonard was a key member of the parade planning committee and was the first one to make a donation to the parade fund, said Pittston Councilman Michael Lombardo.
&#8220;He was a great example of how to live life,&#8221; Lombardo said. &#8220;He was a family man, an educator and proud of his heritage and his city. He represented everything that is good about Pittston.&#8221;
Leonard will be represented at the parade by his wife of 54 years, the former Mary Clare Quinnan, and his children.
Leonard died on Dec. 12 at home at the age of 81.
He was involved with the Greater Pittston Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for many years.
He carried the flag for that organization, both figuratively and literally. He was always the man who led the past presidents into the banquet hall carrying the Irish flag. He served as president in 1967 and was the 2011 Man of the Year at the 97th annual banquet.
That organization is readying for its 100th celebration on St. Patrick&#8217;s Day on March 17.
The parade is set for noon March 8 and will take the same route the Tomato Festival Parade takes. It will start at the fork on South Main Street, march all the way up Main Street, come back down Kennedy Boulevard and end near Quinn&#8217;s Market.
Lombardo said that so far there are more than 80 participating groups, including 10 marching bands.
Born April 29, 1932, in Pittston, Leonard was the son of the late Albert P. and Anna Barrett Leonard. He graduated from Pittston High School, McAllister School of Embalming in New York City and graduated from the University of Scranton with a bachelor of science degree. He was served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
He was a longtime teacher, coach and athletic director at Seton Catholic and its predecessor, St. John&#8217;s High School.
This will be the first St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade in downtown Pittston in nearly a half century. Former President Harry S. Truman marched in the city&#8217;s parade in 1956.

Pittston parade to honor late Friendly Son