A 91-year-old retired educator at Marian Catholic High School in Hometown, has been selected to serve as grand marshal of the 31st Annual Jim Thorpe Halloween Parade which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24, beginning at 2 p.m.

John J. “Jack” Huber will lead the line of march, having been named by officials of the parade sponsor for the past 15 or so years, the Jim Thorpe Lions Club, as its guest of honor.

“We are excited to have Mr. Huber as our grand marshal this year as he has been a staple in the education of our youth at Marian Catholic. It is an honor to be in the company of such an all-around good person. If you help him out, he is sure to give you a detailed handwritten letter in return. He is a man that is always full of gratitude and wearing a smile on his face,” said Pamela McElmoyle parade chairwoman for the Lions Club.

The parade will begin in the area of the Jim Thorpe Area High School parking lot and travel onto Olympian Way, turn left onto Center Street, right on Ninth Street, left on North Street, left onto Sixth Street, right on Center Street and continue to Third Street where it will disband.

Marchers will board buses on Third Street to be transported to Memorial Park where free refreshments will be served and awards will be presented.

About the grand marshal

Huber is a well-known face in the county-seat community, where he and his wife of 56 years, the former Marcella Mazur, raised their six children, all who attended Marian.

A son of the late John F. and Elizabeth G. (Kattner) Huber, he graduated from St. Joseph School, Jim Thorpe, East Mauch Chunk High School and East Stroudsburg State College, and took courses at various colleges and universities around the country.’

Huber is a veteran, having served three years of active duty before his honorable discharge.

He initially worked for six years for the PA Department of Labor and Industry, and a year for the PA Department of Health before devoting 29 years of service at Marian Catholic before his retirement. Post retirement, he was a courier for the Mauch Chunk Trust Company for four years, tutored math for 12 years at the Carbon Career and Technical Institute and taught math for a year the former St. Joseph Regional Academy, Jim Thorpe. Over three decades of service, he educated thousands of students and was known for his patient tutoring sessions long after the final bell rang.

Huber was inducted into the Marian Catholic High School Hall of Fame earlier this year, at which time he said, “Marian was never just a job — it was a family. I was blessed to work with dedicated colleagues and remarkable students. Seeing generations of families pass through Marian has been one of the greatest joys of my life.”

At Marian, he coordinated many student activities; led the Math Tutoring Club; served in guidance counseling; drove the after-school activities bus; worked as a press box spotter at athletic events; and organized the annual faculty and staff spaghetti dinner, raising funds for tuition assistance.

He and his wife have had an endowed scholarship established in their name. The yearly scholarship will be awarded to a Jim Thorpe area resident who enters Marian in his or her freshman year.

The Hubers are the parents of Ann (Al), Susan (Dale), John (Heather), Joseph, Mary Beth and Michael (Amy), and have eight grandchildren, Michael, Zachary, Matthew, Nicholas, Porter, Jackson, Hadli and Jude.

“Jack” also served as a longtime member and past president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at his parish in Jim Thorpe. He was a lector and special minister of the Eucharist for many years. When his children were younger, he served as CYO president at St. Joseph Parish.