Army Capt., Chamber Exec Memorial Day Grand Marshals
A decorated veteran of the Armed Forces from Maspeth and a neighborhood activists were named by the United Veterans and Fraternal Organizations of Maspeth (UVFOM) as grand marshals of the community’s annual Memorial Day Parade scheduled for Sunday, May 27.
The grand marshals are Capt. Laura Zimmerman of the U.S. Army, a native of Maspeth and a graduate of Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village; and Jim O’Kane, former president of the Maspeth Chamber of Commerce.
Zimmerman enlisted with the Army in 1976 and was first assigned as chief ward master of the 343rd Evacuation Hospital Unit at Fort Hamilton in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. She was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in 1990 and retired as a captain 10 years later.
During her military career, Zimmerman received a host of accolades including the Component Achievement Medal Army Service Ribbon, the Army Achievement Medal and the Armed Forces Reserve Component Achievement Medal.
Zimmerman is a graduate of the Hunter/Bellevue School of Nursing and Adelphi University.
O’Kane, meanwhile, has lived in Maspeth since moving with his family to the neighborhood from Brooklyn at the age of eight. He graduated from I.S. 73 in Maspeth, Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood and Suffolk Community College.
After serving 31 years with the city’s Parks Department, O’Kane retired in 1989 and opened O’Kane Realty on Grand Avenue in Maspeth. In addition to running his own business, he also volunteered with many community and business organizations in Maspeth, including the Loyal Order of Moose International, Maspeth Town Hall, Maspeth Chamber of Commerce, Maspeth Kiwanis Club, Long Island Board of Real Estate and Multiple Listing Service of Long Island.
Over the years, O’Kane earned numerous awards recognizing his volunteerism, including the Kiwanis Distinguished Hixson, the Kiwanis North Shore Hospital Trauma Fellowship, the New York State Moose of the Year Award and the 2011 Class Act Community Service Award.
Maspeth’s Memorial Day Parade will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 27 from the Garlinge Memorial Triangle, located at the corner of Grand Avenue and 72nd Street. Numerous bands, soldiers, veterans and community organizations will wind their way through neighborhood streets to Maspeth Memorial Park at the corner of 69th Street and Grand Avenue, where a memorial ceremony will be held at 2 p.m.
For more details about the Maspeth parade and other Memorial Day parades and ceremonies around Queens, check next week’s issue of the Times Newsweekly.
