Every year, the Village of Montgomery’s General Montgomery Day committee chooses an outstanding resident to lead the GMD parade as grand marshal. For 2026, the committee chose Mary Lippincott, a longtime resident and active volunteer whose outreach can be felt in many parts of the community.

Lippincott grew up in several different states and countries; her father served in the military and her family relocated to wherever he was stationed. She moved to the Village of Montgomery in 1970 to live with her late husband Benjamin, former owner of the Crossroads Restaurant on Scott’s Corners. As a 56-year resident, Lippincott greatly appreciates the village’s caring and tight-knit community.

“I moved here in 1970, my late husband had a business here. After he died, I just stayed right here,” Lippincott said. “This is a very caring village; there are 12 houses in my neighborhood, and we all know each other and we’re always there for each other.”

Lippincott graduated from Balboa High School in the Panama Canal Zone in 1966, obtained an associate degree in general studies from Wesley College in 1969, and obtained an associate degree in applied science from Orange County Community College in 1976. She dedicated her career to nursing, working as a respiratory therapist at Horton Hospital in Middletown from 1969 to 2012. In particular, she worked in the hospital’s medical-surgical floor, step-down unit, and critical care unit.

“I became a respiratory therapist at Horton Hospital in Middletown. We later moved to the Orange Regional Center, which became the Garnet Medical Center,” Lippincott said. “I worked on a med-surg floor, then I worked in the step-down unit, and then I went to the critical care unit. In 2012, I thought ‘it’s time to retire,’ which I did.”

In Montgomery, Lippincott volunteers for the Montgomery Food Pantry, the Montgomery Free Library, the Orange County Arboretum at Thomas Bull Memorial Park, and numerous local events. She also routinely attends and participates in village board meetings, advocating for the Montgomery Free Library and ongoing issues. Over the years, local officials and organizations have recognized Lippincott’s volunteer work; the Town of Montgomery named her citizen of the month in 2021, and the Orange County Arboretum named her volunteer of the year in 2022.

“I advocate for the libraries because we really do need funding; people don’t realize how very important it is for children to read books,” Lippincott said. “I’m kind of like Dolly Parton, I want everyone to read.”

Lippincott was very surprised and humbled to be chosen as the village’s grand marshal, and she looked forward to leading General Montgomery Day’s parade.

“When the committee called me and told me that I was grand marshal, I asked ‘Isn’t there someone else better suited for grand marshal?’ But they told me ‘No, no, you volunteer a lot for the community,” Lippincott said. “It was shocking, but I am very humbled and honored to be chosen as grand marshal.”