Bishop McDevitt Class of '73 Reunion

09/02/2026

The newest installment of the Friends of Bishop McDevitt newsletter. It includes info about the upcoming Royal Masque Reunion and McDevitt Football Reunion Weekend. An email heading out soon with some updated class notes.

07/03/2026

Happy July 4th Heat Wave Weekend,
Please be careful in this dangerously hot weather.
Check your emails for a summer update…I used a new app and want to make sure it didn’t go to spam! Included in the newsletter…
A few congratulatory notes:
Our classmate Frances “ Francie” Schwabenland, an award-winning,
globe-trotting photographer and poet, has another book coming out in August.“ Living Namaste: The Light that Bows” features uplifting prose and poetry, inspired by the traditional Hindu greeting. Francie first heard the word, “Namaste” when she was photographing in India and was to learn of its profound meaning to people around the world. “Living Namaste,” already is getting rave reviews. It will be available in hardback, paperback, Kindle and audiobook versions.
Francie also received another prestigious photography award…This time, it’s her photos of Philadelphia that are being singled out as the U.S. celebrates its 250th birthday. Congrats on this well-deserved honor.
Speaking of well-deserved honors, our classmate and McDevitt Hall of Fame inductee Pat Ford Loeb has won yet another Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in journalism.
Pat’s KYW Newsradio report on rookie police officers walking the beat in Kensington took home the top prize in the hard news category. It is well worth a listen. Congratulations, Pat!
 https://youtu.be/FYTkitm36SQ
Again, stay safe. Stay hydrated and…Happy 250th, America!🇺🇸

06/26/2026

💔

View Janet Pappianni-Paret's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

06/26/2026

Some very sad news to tell you about. We’re just now learning about the loss of a beloved classmate and friend. Janet Pappianni-Paret passed away on February 28th, but the Cheshire Citizen newspaper in Connecticut published the information today.
The beautiful and brilliant DR. Pappianni-Paret grew up in Ardsley and attended Queen of Peace School, where she received just about every award that was handed out. Same thing at Bishop McDevitt, and Janet received a four year scholarship to LaSalle for her academic achievements. She was kind and thoughtful and always fun to be around. And the ‘73 McDevitt yearbook made it to the printer because of her efforts!
After double-majoring in English Literature and Biology at LaSalle, Janet attended medical school at Hahnemann, where she met her husband Ronald. Janet specialized in pediatrics and neurology. Ron was an orthopedic surgeon. They both had busy medical practices north of New Haven, Connecticut. But Janet was first and foremost, a devoted wife and mom to the couple’s three daughters, and more recently, a doting grandmother of four.
We send our condolences to Janet’s husband, Ronald, her daughters Katherine, Julie and Hayley, their spouses and children, and to Janet’s sister Denise (McDevitt ‘70) and brother Mike (McDevitt ‘77).
Janet Pappianni-Paret, certainly enriched our lives as a classmate and dear friend, and she made this world a better place. Janet, you’re already missed. 💔🙏
(The Cheshire Citizen article posted separately).

06/17/2026

As some of you may know, the Class of ‘73 has a Book Club. It started during the pandemic and has grown to 105 members. People from other McDevitt classes have asked to join, as have some people who didn’t go to McDevitt. All are welcome.
We meet on Zoom on the third Thursday of the month at noon ET. We frequently have authors join us as guests and we’re having a special guest tomorrow. And some of you have asked if you could participate. The answer is yes.
Our guest author is Father John Dear. John is a prolific author (40 books), a sought-after lecturer and a world-renowned peace activist. The founder and director of The Beatitudes Center, John also hosts “The Non-Violent Jesus Podcast.” He’ll be discussing his new book, “Universal Love: Surrendering to the God of Peace,” about a non-believer’s faith journey and how it forced this Catholic priest to re-examine his own relationship with God. We also read John’s 2008 memoir, “A Persistent Peace: One Man’s Struggle for a Non-Violent World.”
The autobiography describes his journey from Duke University frat boy and rock and jazz musician to Jesuit priest. John’s been arrested 85 times for acts of non-violent civil disobedience, protesting war, nuclear weapons, racism, environmental destruction and the death penalty.
Among other places, John’s travels have taken him to trouble spots like El Salvador, Iraq, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Gaza and the West Bank. Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu nominated John for the Nobel Peace Prize. So have many others. Father John Dear says he’s been blessed to have called the late Father Daniel Berrigan his mentor and spiritual advisor. Other friends he’s made along the way are quite a diverse group, including Mother Teresa, Ethel Kennedy, Martin Sheen and Jackson Browne.
If you are interested in joining us for Thursday’s meeting, post a comment or FB message and we will share the Zoom link with you privately.

06/07/2026

Thanks to the great volunteers at Friends of Bishop McDevitt for putting this together and keeping us together. It is hard to believe that McDevitt closed five years ago!

05/11/2026

Some spring cheer: courtesy our brilliant artist classmate Marie “Twig” Bender. Happy Mother’s Day!!!💕

05/06/2026

Once again sending our heartfelt condolences to our classmate JoAnn Ermigiotti Deery on the loss of her beloved mother. Here is the link to information about the funeral and visitation.We’re all thinking of you JoAnn.

04/29/2026

Congrats to the newest members of the Bishop McDevitt Hall of Fame. An impressive group. Many of our classmates were lucky enough to have Dr. Mike Michael M. Burns, the Chair of McDevitt’s Social Studies Department. He truly is a “Legend of Bishop McDevitt.”

Congratulations to the 2026 inductees into the Bishop McDevitt High School Hall of Fame. It was a great day honoring an amazing group of Royal Lancers from several decades of McDevitt history. L to R: Michael Ogborn '78, John Terrizzi Jr. '81, Dr. Michael Burns, Tim Kelly '86, Mark Finley '02, and Joe Halligan '69.

***we will be posting many more pictures***

04/29/2026

Sending condolences to three of our classmates who recently lost loved ones. JoAnn Ermigiotti Deery’s beloved mother just passed away at the age of 93.
And Ben Jenkins and sister Suzanne Jenkins Rizdy are mourning the loss of their big brother, Dr. Dave Jenkins. Dr. Dave was 85. Thinking of you all. We’ll be sharing more information as we get it…We’re also sharing a link about a scholarship fund honoring Diane Moyer Zenner’s brother Dave…aka “Rooster.”” Dave, a McDevitt standout himself, coached our freshman boy’s basketball team. (I believe they won the championship?) Team members say they will never forget his kindness.

https://glensidelocal.com/roosters-glenside-announces-scholarship-in-honor-of-dan-rooster-moyer/

View David W Jenkins, MD's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.