The St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee and members of the Rossiter family honored the memory of 1972 Grand Marshal Francis P. Rossiter Sr. on Thursday, March 10 at The Catholic Cemetery on Wheaton St.
The small annual ceremony featured speeches and songs, and the Chatham County Sheriff's Department’s Firing Party.
This would have been Rossiter’s 50th anniversary as grand marshal.
Father Patrick O’ Brien opened the event with a prayer and discussed the character of Rossiter and the impact he had on the people around him.
“What we’re doing is honoring a wonderful man. A man that really made a difference in this city. Not just to Irish Catholics, but everyone that came his way,” said O’Brien.
According to the St. Patrick's Day Committee, Rossiter’s upbringing in the Irish Old Fort section of Savannah along with his education at the Marist School for Boys and Benedictine Military School helped to cultivate his positive personality and service to his country.
“I could not be more proud to have a father like Frank Rossiter, Sr. He set the Bar high for all of us,” said Dr. Frank P. Rossiter, Jr.
Rossiter's work as a reporter and editor at the Savannah Morning News earned him the moniker of “Mr. City Beat” in reference to the paper’s longest-running column.
