The 2017 edition of Tamaqua's Memorial Day Parade will begin at 10 a.m. Monday. This year's grand marshal is Roy D. Habel of Hometown, while U.S. Army Tech. Sgt. Lacey Timony of Tamaqua will be the featured speaker for the Memorial Day service, which will be held at 11 a.m. at Soldiers' Circle in Odd Fellows Cemetery. Honors for the service will be rendered by the color guard of C.H. Berry Post 173, Tamaqua American Legion.

The parade will form in the last block of East Broad Street in the area of the former CVS and Maff Motors. Participants are asked to be there no later than 9:45 a.m., and should check in with parade coordinators to find their location in the lineup.Grand Marshal Habel is a native of Tamaqua and a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army as a private first class. During his service from 1943 to 1945, he was assigned to the 164th Engineer Combat Battalion and was active in France, Belgium and Germany during the final months of the war. He landed on Utah Beach during the European invasion and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. He was later assigned to a region around the Rhine River with the responsibilities of building bridges and mine nets.On July 2, 1945, he was part of a unit that suffered extensive losses resulting from an explosion while in Gerbronn, Germany, and was later shipped home via France.After the war, Roy owned and operated Mountain Side Coal Breaker in South Tamaqua for 35 years.He is the husband of Doris B. (Malick) Habel, to whom he has been married 71 years.Roy has a son, Joseph B. Habel, and a daughter, Doris V. Hosier, both of Tamaqua. Roy also had a son Roy E. "Poncho" Habel, who passed away in 2013, and a daughter, Kathy M. Moser, who passed away in 2011. He has five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.He is a member of the American Legion, DAV, VFW and the Battle of the Bulge Association.Memorial serviceThe 149th annual Memorial Day service honors all deceased veterans and features the reading of the names of Tamaqua-area veterans who passed away since Memorial Day 2016.The service also includes patriotic selections by members of the high school band and a balloon release in memory of departed veterans. Participants will include The Rev. Darryl Kensinger, Grand Marshal Roy D. Habel, Poppy Queen Emily Beltz, BPW Women of the Year award winner Rebecca Kanaskie, Tamaqua American Legion C.H. Berry Post 173, Tamaqua Area Raider Marching Band, Tamaqua Area High School Student Council, the Canton Allentown 39 Patriarch's Militant, and guest speaker Lacey Timony.Timony is a native of Ocean County, New Jersey, and a graduate of Panther Valley High School. Upon high school graduation, she enlisted as a health services manager in the U.S. Air Force and has served 10 years on active duty. Timony is currently serving at the rank of technical sergeant with the 193rd Special Operations Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, Middletown, Pennsylvania.During her military service, she was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas; and Joint Base San Antonio. She has earned two Air Force Achievement Medals and an Air Force Commendation Medal.A student at Penn State University, she is employed with Keystone Medical Equipment as a medical administrative assistant. She serves on the Tamaqua Public Library Board, volunteers with the Tamaqua Community Art Center, Horses and Horizons Therapeutic Learning Program, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Schuylkill County and is an avid runner, having completed 10 half-marathons.Other participantsThis year's Poppy Queen is Emily Beltz, daughter of Richard and Jennifer Beltz of Tamaqua. She is the granddaughter of Richard and Loretta Beltz of Quakake and Greg and the late Kay Hartshorne of Tamaqua. Emily attends second grade at the Tamaqua Elementary School and is a member of Tamaqua Brownie Troop 30060; Tamaqua Area Youth Soccer; and the Junior Auxiliary of the Tamaqua Legion, where she can often be found helping with Legion breakfasts. She is also a five-year student of Dance Explosion is Nesquehoning and attends Grier City Sunday school.The Tamaqua Business and Professional Women's Young Woman of the Year winner is Rebecca Kanaskie, a senior at Tamaqua Area High School. The daughter of Paul and Renee Kanaskie of Tamaqua plans to attend Washington College in Maryland this fall to study business or anthropology. She is president of Media Club, a member of Student Government, National Honor Society, Math National Honor Society, English National Honor Society, and is a four-year member and captain of the swim team.The Rev. Darryl Kensinger has served as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Tamaqua since fall 2013. He previously held the Orangeville Charge north of Bloomsburg for 11 years. Raised in Pinellas County, Florida, Rev. Kensinger is a graduate of Gardner-Webb College in North Carolina and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his wife, Tina, are the parents of three children, Jesse, Sarah and Joshua.The parade will be held rain or shine. In the event of rain, however, the Memorial Day service will be held at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center at 125 Pine St., Tamaqua. If the service is relocated to the center, the announcement will be made as early as possible on the Facebook pages of the Zizelmann-Gulla Funeral Home, the American Legion C.H. Berry, Post 173, and the American Legion Honor Guard. The announcement will also be made on WMGH.Any organizations interested in joining the parade can do so by contacting Dave Meredith at 570-668-3356.