Kevin Steigerwalt of Tamaqua has been named grand marshal of the 2025 Tamaqua Memorial Day Parade, while Dennis DiCarlo will be the featured speaker for the Memorial Day Service.

The parade begins at 10 a.m. Monday on East Broad Street, and the service follows at 11 a.m. from the Soldiers’ Circle in Odd Fellows Cemetery. The color guard of the Tamaqua American Legion C.H. Berry Post #173 will render honors.

The parade will form in the last block of East Broad Street in the area of NAPA Auto Parts. Participants are asked to arrive no later than 9:30 a.m., and upon arrival, should check in with one of the parade coordinators to find their designated location in the lineup.

The 157th Tamaqua Memorial Day Service of Remembrance honors our country’s war dead, with printed recognition of those 94 Tamaqua natives who gave their lives while on active military duty. The brief service also includes the reading of the names of the Tamaqua area veterans who passed away since last year’s Memorial Day observance.

Participants will include Master of Ceremonies Matthew Zizelmann, Deacon John Matulevich, Poppy Queen Isabelle Swartz, Tamaqua American Legion C.H. Berry Post #173, Canton Allentown #39 Patriarch’s Militant, members of the Tamaqua Area High School Raider Marching Band, Steigerwalt and DiCarlo.

Sgt. DiCarlo is a native of Tamaqua and is a son of Linda DiCarlo and the late David DiCarlo. He graduated from Tamaqua Area High School in 1988 and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After completing basic training at Parris Island, he spent seven years as an aviation supply specialist with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 16 at Marine Corps Air Station Tustin in California. DiCarlo was deployed during the Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, Africa.

He holds a degree in health and physical education from West Chester University. He has taught in the public school system for 25 years and currently teaches physical education at Panther Valley Elementary School. He lives in Tamaqua with his wife, Jerilyn, and his 5-yar-old daughter, Hazel. His three adult children, Dalton, Devin and Avery, live in Texas.

Swartz is the daughter of Kimberly and Ray Swartz of Tamaqua and the sister of Michael Pratka. She attends Tamaqua Elementary and is a member of the Junior Auxiliary of the Tamaqua Legion.

Matulevich was ordained into the Permanent Diaconate by His Excellency, Bishop Alfred Schlert, on Sept. 14, 2024, for the Diocese of Allentown. He is currently placed at St. Clare of Assisi Parish in St. Clair and Holy Cross Parish in New Philadelphia. For the past 18 years, he has been a business education teacher with the Tamaqua Area School District, most recently as head of the business department. He earned graduate degrees from Lebanon Valley College, Alvernia University, Misericordia University, Wilkes University, Temple University, St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry and St. Joseph’s College of Maine.

He and his wife Mary have a son, John Jr., and his wife Angel, and one grandchild, Ayla.

Sgt. Steigerwalt, a native of Tamaqua, is the son of Carolyn Steigerwalt and the late Leonard Steigerwalt. Steigerwalt graduated from Tamaqua Area High School in 1986 and enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve shortly after graduation. He was assigned to the 365th Engineer Battalion in Schuylkill Haven where he served as a personnel administration specialist for several years before transferring to a public affairs specialist position at the 1079th U. S. Army Reserve Garrison in Fort Indiantown Gap.

During his enlistment, Steigerwalt participated in several training exercises at home and overseas at bases in Honduras, Panama and El Salvador. While on a temporary assignment with the 326th Public Affairs Detachment in Reading, Steigerwalt met his wife, Kimberly of Pine Grove, also a U.S. Army veteran. He was discharged from the U.S. Army Reserve in 1998.

Steigerwalt holds a degree in communications and journalism from Shippensburg University and has worked as a journalist and photographer for several newspapers including the Times News and Pottsville Republican.

In 1994, he was appointed Tamaqua borough secretary and is currently the Tamaqua borough manager, a position he has held since 2001. An Eagle Scout, he has served as Scoutmaster of Troop 777 in Tamaqua for 12 years. He is a member of the American Legion C.H. Berry Post #173. He and his wife have been married for 29 years and have two sons, Nathan and Alex.

The parade will be held rain or shine. In the event of rain, however, the Memorial Day Service will be held at the Tamaqua Arts Center, 125 Pine St. If the service is relocated, the announcement will be made as early as possible on the Tamaqua Remembers Facebook page.

Any organizations interested in participating in the parade can do so by contacting Arthur Connely at 570-778-7710 or Dave Meredith at 570-668-3356.

Food and refreshments will be available at the Tamaqua American Legion, 206 W. Broad St., immediately following the service.