Former commish named grand marshal of Memorial Day Parade
RADNOR » James Higgins, a 40-year resident of Wayne and U.S. Navy veteran, will serve as this year’s grand marshal of the Radnor Township Memorial Day Parade and ceremony.
Higgins, 77, a native of Pittsburgh, graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts. He then enrolled as a night student at the Catholic University of America while working as a special agent for the U.S. Department of State. Elected secretary and then president of the Student Bar Association in law school, he graduated in 1966 with a Juris Doctor degree, earning various honors in the process.
Higgins received a direct commission to the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps immediately after graduation from law school and then reported to Newport, R.I., for officer training. He was transferred to Treasure Island Naval Station in San Francisco and, from there, to Danang, Vietnam, for a full year. In Vietnam and subsequently at the Philadelphia Naval Base, he served as defense counsel and later as prosecutor in general and special courts-martial. For his achievements in the courtroom, the secretary of the Navy appointed him to the position of military judge in 1969, and for his service in Vietnam, Higgins was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal. He was released from active duty in October 1969 at the rank of lieutenant.
Higgins met his future wife, Ida-Marie Jannetta, in 1965 at a relative’s wedding, and they were married in 1969. She is a graduate of Cabrini University and spent her working career in advertising and as marketing director with the Eastern Technology Council. The family moved to North Wayne in 1978 and have raised four children.
Higgins was elected to the Radnor Board of Commissioners in 1983 as the first Democrat representing Ward 1. He was re-elected in 1987 and again in 2011 and 2015.
In 1996, concerned about the deteriorating condition of the Wayne Train Station, Higgins founded the Wayne Station Historic Preservation Association and, with a number of other Wayne residents, raised $220,000 in private funds and partnered with SEPTA to obtain an additional $500,000 to save the station from deterioration and ultimate loss. The association applied for and achieved registration on the National Register for Historic Places with the National Park Service
This coming Memorial Day will mark more than 100 years of tradition as Lancaster Avenue will be lined with hundreds of families waving flags as the parade kicks off at 9:45 from Lincoln Financial Center. The parade will travel west along Lancaster Avenue through the heart of Wayne and ending at the Radnor Township War Memorial on South Wayne Avenue.
The ceremony at the memorial will start immediately after the parade ends. The event will start by reading the 118 names of Radnor residents who lost their lives in the wars of our nation.
Everyone is invited to attend this ceremony as all of the soldiers sailors, airmen and marines who secured our freedoms, rights and liberties are remembered.