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1998 PARADE GRAND MARSHAL

John Kane Booth

On January 9, 1998, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee announced John Kane Booth as the Grand Marshal of the 42 nd Annual Parade in Newport.

A member of the post war generation of baby boomers, John was born in Newport to Howard and Barbara Behan Booth. A 1964 graduate of De LaSalle Academy, where, it is said, boys become men (an later, Hibernians), John ventured briefly into the world of academia at Stonehill College. Finding the world of work more to his liking, John spend some time in the local landscaping scene before joining the Newport Fire Department in February 1968.

As the luck of the Irish would have it, and, with the sure blessing of St. Patrick, John married Carolyn Reder (a carpetbagger) in 1973. They have four daughters: Shannon, Maureen, Caitlin and Colleen, all true Irish lasses.

While doing his part in raising the girls, John rose through the ranks of the Newport Fire Department to become Chief, a position he held for four years until his recent retirement.

John’s casual style, his tendency toward the blarney, and his love for the auld sod are well known. Three of his four trips to Ireland were spent cycling the byways. John has recently returned from a thirty day, post-retirement walkabout in the Emerald Isle.