Longtime Irish community member to lead St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Longtime Sioux Falls resident Denise Ferrie, whose mother immigrated from Ireland, will be the grand marshal of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Sioux Falls.

Ferrie’s Irish roots reach far back into Glencolumcille, an Irish community in County Donegal. Her mother came to Pittsburgh when she married.

The 44th St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be March 16 in downtown Sioux Falls. Shawn Cleary, the chair of the St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza Committee, said Ferrie personifies the spirit of founder Sylvia Henkin, who wanted the event to be the “people’s parade.” That means anyone can participate as long as they are registered or part of a registered group and wearing an official parade button costing $3.

Ferrie was nominated for grand marshal by Dick Murphy, co-owner of the former Mrs. Murphy’s Irish Gifts, who remembers with fondness Ferrie’s frequent visits and sharing Irish heritage.

Ferrie has visited Ireland four times, but it was her first, when she was 5, that sticks with her the most, playing with cousins on the family sheep farm and swimming in the nearby ocean. In 2018, she and a sister, Maggie, got together with about 20 cousins and spouses. One cousin, James, brought them to the home that has been in the family for 400 years and told them it was as much their home as it was his. “Every time I have gone to Glencolumcille, it was like our mother was with us,” she said.

Ferrie and her husband, Terry, moved to Sioux Falls, his hometown, in 1978. She soon was involved in private banking and the trust department at Norwest Bank and its successor, Wells Fargo. Her career concluded as office manager for Elgethun Capital Management.

The couple has two daughters, Andrea McIntyre and Colleen Ferrie, and were involved in the soccer community, both as coaches and leaders in the soccer organization. They also were active in the Cathedral of St. Joseph and Cathedral School. For 23 years, Ferrie was a eucharistic minister at Avera Health.

The parade typically draws 100 entries. Registration, which closes March 6, is available at here.

Placement in the parade is on a first-come, first-served basis and is at the discretion of parade officials. Each entry must have some kind of Irish theme.

Buttons are available in advance at 605 Running Co., The Cookie Jar Eatery and other downtown businesses. They also can be purchased the day of the parade at the starting point. St. Francis House will be selling buttons and receiving a portion of button sales.