Roy Hand of East Hoosick was chosen to be the 2012 Grand Marshal of The Hoosick Falls St. Patrick’s Parade. Roy will lead the parade and will be honored at the Irish Festival after the parade.
Roy was born to Elizabeth Boose Hand and George Hand. Roy’s father George was the youngest of 9 children born to James and Mary Fitzpatrick Hand, who immigrated to the United States in the 1860s from the area of Kilkenny, Ireland.
Roy Hand was born and raised in Pittstown and moved to the Town of Hoosick in 1960 when he married Joan White. Roy has lived in the hamlet of Mapletown in the Town of Hoosick ever since. Roy has been very active in The Hoosick Fire Department since 1966 and was the Chief of the Department from 1984-1987. He is now serving on the Hoosick Fire Department Board of Commissioners. He had worked for Delurey’s Sales and
Service for fifty years before his retirement in 2007. There is seldom a morning he does not stop at the garage to say hello. Roy is well known throughout the community as an ace mechanic. You may see him at an accident scene in his role as a firefighter or with a tow truck.
Roy is a true Irishman in the fact of his gift of “gab.” His late wife, Joan, would always say she could send him to the store for a gallon of milk but by the time he would return from talking to everyone, she could have gone out and bought a cow and milked it.
Roy enjoys NASCAR racing and has traveled to many different racetracks with his friends and family. He looks forward every year to his “boys” trip with his son and grandsons to The Charlotte race.
He is a true family man who adores his grandchildren, Erin, Ryan and Evan. He loves to spend time with them. He has instilled in his children and grandchildren the value of family and their family roots.
He is also proud of his vegetable garden and his “homestead” on East Hoosick Road and enjoys the singing of his daughter in law Shari Hand at area events.
The Hoosick Falls St. Patrick’s Parade is on Saturday, March 17, At 1 pm. The Irish Festival will be held right after the parade in the New York State Armory.