On March 12, alumnus Patrick Joseph Waide Jr. ’59, known by his close friends as “Joe,” will proudly lead the many people of Irish descent living in Greenwich, Conn. down Greenwich Avenue as he serves as the grand marshal of the 32nd annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
The Greenwich Hibernian Association organizes the parade every year, and it was the organization that chose Waide to preside as grand marshal.
“I find this humorous, but one of the reasons I was chosen is because of my namesake – Patrick,” said Waide. “Believe it or not, I’m the first Patrick to ever be grand marshal [of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade].”
It wasn’t just Waide’s namesake that got him the coveted position of grand marshal. Waide was also chosen because of his active involvement in social activities in the local community and the neighborhood Catholic Church.
Waide has always been involved in the community. In the past, Waide served as a board member, director, president and treasurer for several nonprofit organizations, including the Girl Scouts of America and the Interracial Council for Business Opportunity of New York. Most recently he served as chairman of the board of the National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company and the scholarship committee of Saint Mary Church in Greenwich.
Waide is also of Irish descent. Both of his parents immigrated to America from the counties of Cork and Leix before Waide was born.
“My parents were very involved in the parade many years ago,” said Waide. “It truly is an honor to keep the tradition that my parents found so important going on after all these years.”
A graduate of Fairfield University’s class of 1959, Waide went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Waide, now 68 years old, spent most of his career working in public accounting and investment management at Deloitte Haskins ‘ Sell, an international consulting firm.
Waide used his knowledge of business to give back to his alma mater of Fairfield by serving as a the first chairman of the Business Advisory Committee. Waide also assisted the university as a member of the Board of Trustees for twelve years.
“It was a great university at the time that I was there. Just as it is still a great university today,” said Waide about Fairfield University. “I really value the education that I got while I was there [at Fairfield].”
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