2024 Class of Inductees in the Bishop McDevitt Hall of Fame 

Jesse Brookreson '94 - Athletic Hall of Fame 

“The only McDevitt golfer to have won the individual Catholic League Championship.”

Those are among the key words that both of his nominators used to describe Jesse Brookreson, Class of 1994.  And, while that alone would be enough to make Jesse a worthy nominee, there’s much more of which he and we may be proud.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in St. Hilary’s parish in Huntingdon Valley, Jesse was introduced to the game of golf by his father, an accomplished player and widely respected champion.  While he competed in baseball, football, basketball, swimming, and lacrosse, as well, it was on the links that his father helped him learn the importance of being a gentleman who embodies the core values of honesty, integrity, respect, and sportsmanship.  Jesse’s skills were honed at Huntingdon Valley Country Club and the Golf Association of Philadelphia.

Forensics, the Latin and Italian Clubs, the Royal Masque, Student Council, and the World Affairs Club all benefited from Jesse’s time and talents during his years on Royal Avenue, during which he also caddied at Huntingdon Valley and played CYO basketball at Our Lady Help of Christians.   And still he found time – thankfully – for our Golf Team.

Jesse earned All-Catholic honors in his sophomore, junior, and senior years, and was named Captain by Coach Sue Reilly for senior year, as well.  In that same year, he earned the individual Catholic League Championship with a score of 76, the only McDevitt golfer ever to have achieved that distinction.

At our mutual alma mater, La Salle University, as a J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship recipient, Jesse earned his Bachelor of Science degree as a business and finance major in 1998.  He continued his competitive career, again leading his team in the role of Captain as a senior.  His career in the financial markets began that same year with his internship at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.  Jesse currently serves as Senior Vice President for Investments at Great Oak Investment Management of Raymond James in Doylestown.

As one of his nominators states clearly, “Jesse…demonstrates the highest standards of family, faith, and integrity on a daily basis.”  Jesse and his family are active members of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, where he serves as Eucharistic Minister and on the Parish Finance Committee.  Externally, Jesse is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Hatboro and the Knights of Columbus, Council 17887, and still manages to find time for hunting, fishing, music, and cooking and….now what was that other thing...don't tell me, it’ll come to me…oh, yeah, golf.

With thanks to his nominators John Boyce, Class of 1991, and Drew O’Neill, Class of 1987, and to Jesse’s wife Molly for all the information she shared, please join our Athletic Hall of Fame as we welcome the Class of 1994’s Jesse Brookreson.

Mark Gilman '73 - Athletic Hall of Fame 

“The best high school runner on the East Coast, maybe, the entire country.”

That was how Letterman Magazine described Bishop McDevitt track and cross-country star Mark E. Gilman, who first attracted the attention of the school’s football, basketball, track, and cross-country coaches when he ran in an event at McDevitt known as “the freshman mile” at the outset of the 1969-70 academic year.  His time was around five minutes and every McDevitt coach wanted to take advantage of his speed and endurance.  But Mark realized he was most comfortable running, and he was the first freshman in school history to make the varsity cross-country and track teams.  A photo of Mark running is prominently displayed in every McDevitt yearbook when he was a student, and he remembers coaches from other high schools admonishing their runners for getting “beaten by a freshman!”  That was just the start!

The third of seven children and a founding member of St. Alphonsus parish, Mark earned All-Catholic honors all four years at McDevitt.  He was an integral part of the McDevitt Cross-Country team that won the 1970 Catholic League Championship, leading the team as a sophomore.  That team was recently inducted into the Belmont Plateau Cross Country Hall of Fame this past year.  On the track, Mark’s McDevitt record in the two mile still stands. (He regrets not being allowed to run the mile and still wonders how he would have done.)  Mark was named to the All-Inquirer Team in each of his sophomore, junior and senior years at McDevitt.  He won the Coaches Invitational and Catholic War Veterans Championships all three years.  Mark also competed in and won two events at the Junior Olympics, in both his junior and senior years at McDevitt, and earned a scholarship to Allegheny College, where he led the team to the National Junior College Cross-Country Championship his freshman year and was named a first team All-American.  Sadly, he was hospitalized with infected wisdom teeth his sophomore year and was unable to compete.  Mark transferred to Temple University, where his school cross-country, 10k, and six-mile records stand to this day.

Personal reasons caused Mark to leave Temple when his eligibility ended.  He applied his disciplined work ethic in the construction field, then trained as a plumber, spending 34 years as the lead plumber in charge of the physical plant at Merck.  (He also was a union rep and ran the blood drive at Merck for many years.)  Mark later returned to and earned his degree at Temple, graduating as a grandpop in 2022.  He and his wife Mary Ann met as students at St. Anthony’s School in Ambler.  Mary Ann, who recently retired as principal of Holy Rosary Regional School, got Mark into coaching when she taught at Epiphany and he volunteered alongside her. Mark also served as Assistant Track and Cross-Country Coach of the boys’ and girls’ teams at Lower Moreland High School. You may also have spotted him on the basketball court. He’s been a volunteer referee at high school and college basketball games for the past 15 years, honored as “Referee of the Year.”

But the name Mark Gilman will always be associated with track and cross-country, especially Bishop McDevitt track and cross-country.

With thanks to his nominator, our fellow 1973 classmate and 2023 Hall of Fame member Jane Metzler, please join our Athletic Hall of Fame as we welcome the Class of 1973’s Mark E. Gilman.

Thomas Foley '71 - Alumni Hall of Fame 

“His contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland outmatches the contribution to humanity of any person I’ve personally known.”

So wrote one of our next honoree’s nominators, 1971 classmate and 2023 Hall of Famer Brian Flannery.  Aye, Aye, Commander.

Named for an uncle he never knew, who gave his life for the cause of freedom during World War II, Thomas P. Foley has lived a life of service to others that shines as an ongoing tribute to his Uncle Tom.  And he and his wife Michelle have ensured that Uncle Tom’s name and legacy live on in the next generation, as well.

Tom was a bit of a Renaissance Man throughout his McDevitt career.  Nominator and classmate Chuck Boyle writes that, as a 150-pound guard on our football team, there was nobody tougher than Tom, who was also at the top of his class academically and served as President of our Key Club.

Perhaps best remembered as a member of Mr. Horn’s Forensics Team, Tom and his partner Bob Frank won city and state titles and finished fifth in the country at the national championships—the highest finish ever by a Philadelphia team.  And, in his senior year spare time, he tripped a bit of the light fantastic in the production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying that capped fellow honoree Robert Yacko’s Royal Masque career and began my own.  It’s doubtful that the words “without really trying” ever characterized Tom in any other setting. 

At Dartmouth College, Tom again excelled in academics and debate.  He earned a post -graduate grant to University College, Dublin.  While in Ireland, Tom became involved in the Irish Peace Movement and took a two year leave of absence from law school and went to Belfast at great risk to help the peace process.  He was an important adviser to the cause, crafting position papers on key issues, setting up programs and sports for both Catholic and Protestant youths and serving as the Executive Member for Justice Issues for the leading on the ground peace group.  During that period, his friends were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Upon his return to the USA, Tom graduated near the top of his class from Yale Law School where he also played on their nationally ranked rugby team, a sport he took up while living in Ireland.  He turned down numerous high paying law firms that recruited him and decided to dedicate his life to the common good.  He again became involved in the peace process and became a trusted adviser to Congressman Thomas (Tip) O'Neil, Speaker of the US House of Representatives and to other key players in the peace process. Numerous lives would have been lost if Tom and those with whom he was associated had not worked so diligently to promote the peace process there.

Tom then became chief speech writer for Senator Joseph Biden and was subsequently recruited by Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey to serve Pennsylvania as PA’s youngest ever Secretary of Labor and Industry. He was later a Candidate for Lieutenant Governor and an endorsed Democratic candidate for both Auditor General and U.S. Senator. Tom has since served as head of the United Way of Pennsylvania and the Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania, responding to numerous regional, national, and international disasters, and as President of Mt Aloysius College.  He presently serves as President of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, skillfully helping our institutions of higher education weather these challenging times. With thanks to his nominators, teammates, 1971 classmates, and lifelong friends Chuck Boyle and Hall of Famer Brian Flannery, please join our Alumni Hall of Fame as we welcome the Class of 1971’s Thomas P. Foley.

Patricia (Ford) Loeb '73 - Alumni Hall of Fame 

“I don’t know where she gets the energy, but if she bottles it and sells it, I’m buying!”

So wrote Hall of Famer Jane Metzler of our 1973 classmate, Pat Ford Loeb.  At McDevitt, as at Queen of Peace School before that, we knew her as Patti Ford. But to thousands who tune in to KYW Newsradio, she is City Hall Bureau Chief, Pat Loeb.  Jane (whom Pat helped bring out of retirement and onto to the KYW team), writes that she is “blown away by (Pat’s) work ethic and professionalism.”

This mother of FOUR files more stories than anyone on the staff, moderates debates, and is a frequent panelist on numerous TV programs examining the political landscape.  During presidential visits, she is the one called upon to provide live coverage.  But as much as KYW claims a prominent place on Pat’s resume, (it is where she started as a desk assistant after graduating from Temple University), there is so much more to the Pat Ford Loeb story, both personally and professionally.  Pat spent years working for public radio, in Philadelphia and other major markets, including DC and LA.  She has been a foreign correspondent, covering some of the major stories of the day.  She has written two books on journalism, “Don’t Stop There!” and “Delving the Divide,” which focuses on covering race relations. 

For the past decade, Pat has taught and mentored Philadelphia area high school students, volunteering with KYW’s Newstudies program.  She has also taught at the non-profit Project Home, which helps the homeless.  Pat has held leadership positions with SAG-AFTRA, in which she got to reconnect with beloved McDevitt Legend, the late Tom McNutt, who served as President of the Philadelphia Chapter.  She has won many awards for excellence in journalism, most recently a Pennsylvania Broadcasters Association Award for her series “Crisis at the Juvenile Justice Center,” she volunteers for numerous charities, and she was even PTA President at her children’s school!  Pat has been happily married for decades to fellow journalist Vernon Loeb. (They met covering a Philadelphia School Board Meeting when he was at The Inquirer.)

Pat has always been there to support her fellow McDevitt and Queen of Peace classmates. She volunteers at every reunion; helped us update our class list (an ongoing task); and is the first one out on the dance floor at every McDevitt get-together.  And on top of all that, in her spare time, you’ll find Pat rowing on the Schuylkill, as an active volunteer with the Schuylkill Navy.

With thanks to her nominator, our aforementioned classmate and Hall of Famer Jane Metlzer, please join our Alumni Hall of Fame as we welcome the Class of 1973’s Patricia (Ford) Loeb.

Deacon John Hunter '70  - Alumni Hall of Fame 

“He was always led toward the faith.”

So wrote Class of 1967 member Margie Weaver about her brother, John K. Hunter.

One of many in their family who are proud successors to the name of 19th Century Scottish portraitist and author John Kelso Hunter and to the legacy of Glenside’s Hunter Soccer Club, named posthumously in honor of John’s and Margie’s father, who founded the club at St. Luke’s, John’s life of service is wide-ranging and significant.

As an alumnus of both McDevitt and Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, now Jefferson University, John enjoyed a solid business career, rising from early positions with John Wanamaker and Bloomingdales to senior leadership in the jewelry industry as vice president of Tiffany’s and president of J.E. Caldwell.

John’s volunteer work includes vice presidency of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at Textile and as a coach for Hunter Soccer.  As a philanthropist, he has served as a board member for Hunter, as Vice President of the Philadelphia Art Alliance, and on the Board of the Curtis Institute of Music.  John has been a Friend & Supporter of the Philadelphia Opera Company and served on the Board of the Presbyterian Foundation for Philadelphia and New Courtland and in the Chamber of Commerce of the City of Philadelphia.  He has served on the Board of Trustees of Abington Hospital Foundation and as a member of the Patrons of Vatican Arts.  John has also served on the Marian Anderson Award Committee and is a Supporter of the Philadelphia Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Called to a life of service to his faith, John has been a Deacon for 22 years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, currently serving at his home parish, Glenside’s St. Luke the Evangelist.  He leads Scripture Study Classes for Advent and Lent at St. Luke’s as well as the Miraculous Medal Devotion and induction into the Association of the Miraculous Medal every May.  He served as President of the St. Luke’s Parish Council under Msgr. Lyons and is a past member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.  John has been the Director of the Archbishop’s Benefit Christmas Party for Children, Director of Business Leaders of Catholic Schools, and Vice President of Development & the Catholic Charities Appeal for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.   John and his wife Kathie have raised a fine family throughout this life of significant service, as well.

With thanks for his nomination to the Class of 1967’s Margaret Hunter Weaver, please join our Alumni Hall of Fame as we welcome the Class of 1970’s Deacon John Hunter.

Robert Yacko '71  - Alumni Hall of Fame 

“Deep in December…it’s nice to remember…the fires of September…that made us mellow”

Those timeless words from a classic song by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt set the stage well for a look at the career of our next honoree.

Experienced and respected in theater from one coast to the other, Robert Yacko is known as a remarkably versatile actor and singer. Well-trained at Temple University and The Juilliard School, he is equally at home in Repertory, on Broadway, and in front of a camera.  And all this has roots in Robert’s years – when we knew him as Bob – with Bishop McDevitt’s Royal Masque, as both a founding member and later an alumnus mentor, and as a saxophonist on the field and in concert as a member of our Band.  His earliest leading role, in fact, was on the McDevitt stage – or, more precisely, in the round in our cafeteria – in a fondly remembered run of The Fantasticks…by the aforementioned Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt.

An admitted character actor from his early years and blessed with a rich lyric baritone of effortless range, he has been described as an "absolutely natural all-around leading man", garnering epithets for his work that lean from "raucous" and "hilariously deadpan" all the way to "emotionally intense" and "broodingly dark".  

Robert starred in the Los Angeles Premieres of Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George and of Chess and the West Coast Premieres of Legacy of Light and Romance, Romance, and he debuted a Bernstein aria never heard before in performance in The Bernstein Peter Pan. He also appeared in the celebrated Jason Robert Brown/Alfred Uhry opus Parade at the Mark Taper Forum. His 2017 Sondheim concert performances include the roles of Ben in Follies and Fredrik in A Little Night Music.

In 2019, Robert co-starred in the Off-Broadway Musical Play, "Two's A Crowd", opposite comedienne extraordinaire, Rita Rudner.   He has had the honor of sharing the stage with luminaries such as Carol Burnett, Leslie Uggams, Herschel Bernardi, Cesar Romero, and Theodore Bikel, and has had the fortunate opportunity to work under the direction of the great Jerome Robbins. He can also proudly count himself as one of Cyd Charisse's dance partners. 

A true triple threat, Robert's other talents include work in numerous accents, opera, folk guitar, piano, saxophone, stage combat, sport fencing and horsemanship. He is also the "Voice of God" at the L.A.  Stage Alliance's annual Ovation Awards ceremony, reprising a role he first played in our theatrical liturgy group, “The Last Day Players,” way back in the early 70s, bringing a touch of St. Genesius to the Book of Genesis. Robert debuted his solo cabaret act, Opening Doors, in August of 2017.  He had just completed pre-production and was about to go into rehearsal as the Director of Musical Theater Guild's "Rewind 2" Benefit when the world shut down during the pandemic, but he remained very active in providing entertainment and helping keep fellow performers and producers afloat through much streaming work in that difficult period, lots of which may be found on his YouTube channel.  He has since returned to in-person work, to the delight of audiences, most recently in a revival of Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman’s Mack and Mabel

As Robert’s fellow alumnus of the Royal Masque, McDevitt’s Marvelous Marchers, and – yes – “The Last Day Players” and as his friend, I am proud to have nominated him.  Please join our Alumni Hall of Fame as we welcome the Class of 1971’s Robert Yacko.

Sr. Dolores Beatty GNSH - Legend of McDevitt

“A perky little Sister…fondly remembered for flipping her little black veil, not only a great teacher but one always willing to reach out with a helping hand and a smile on her face.”

That’s how Legend of McDevitt Father Charles Noone describes Sister Dolores Beatty…and that is very much how I and so many other of her students fondly remember her, as well.

She’s been called a pint-sized powerhouse…known for her ready smile, open heart, and infectious energy that inspired generations of students.  And for more than two decades, Sister Dolores Beatty of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart taught Social Studies at Bishop McDevitt High School.  But her contributions to our alma mater went far beyond the classroom.

A North Philadelphia native, “DB” – as friends, family, McDevitt colleagues and yes, her fellow nuns, call her – entered the convent a year after graduating from Little Flower High School in 1955.  Sister Dolores studied at D’Youville University in Buffalo and holds master’s degrees from both Villanova University and Gwynedd Mercy University.  She also took graduate courses at The University of Notre Dame.  And from 1971 through 1991, McDevitt students benefited from her extensive knowledge.

Along with World Cultures and Senior Social Studies, “DB” taught a subject that some of her colleagues shied away from: Economics.  As a former Girard Trust Bank employee, it is a subject she absolutely loved.  Sister loved being part of the McDevitt community as much as we, in turn, enjoyed her company and she has stayed in touch with many of her former students and fellow faculty members.  They remember her years dependably running the AV Club and moderating the Senior Prom Committee, for which she rolled up her sleeves and helped Signore Tony Russo make his signature sauce at the Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser every year.  (She laughs just thinking about that!)  Sister Dolores Beatty helped Sister Marianne Beatty, RSM with the cheerleading team and assisted Father Noone with McDevitt’s School Ministry.  DB was also the moderator of the Father-Daughter Dance Committee, Assistant Moderator of CSC (the Community Service Corps) and was actively involved with another McDevitt tradition: the annual Powder Puff Game.  Sister frequently could be found in the stands cheering (loudly) for any and all McDevitt sports teams.  She gamely performed when faculty members participated in school talent shows and laughed along with everyone else in the audience when her “habit” of flipping her little black veil regularly found its way into the McDevitt Day Show.  (She says the veil got in the way when she was writing on the blackboard.) 

Sister Dolores Beatty has been a kindergarten teacher, a beloved school principal, and taught at another Catholic high school in Atlanta, where students were devastated to see her leave.  Their loss was McDevitt’s gain.  Now, looking back, at the age of 86, Sister Dolores Beatty calls her twenty years at Bishop McDevitt the “best years of her life.”  Thank you, Sister, for contributing to many of our own, in turn.

With thanks to her nominator, 2023 Legend of Bishop McDevitt Father Charles J. Noone and biographical research by…Can it be?  Our good friend Jane Metlzer again? Why, yes it is!...A true Legend of Bishop McDevitt High School, Sister Dolores Beatty.

Mr. William Hanley  - Legend of McDevitt

“Before there was Title IX, there was Bill Hanley.”

William K. Hanley started teaching math at Bishop McDevitt High School in 1967 when he was 21 years old and a senior at Villanova University, which he attended on scholarship.  From Massachusetts, Bill found himself in an unfamiliar area, and supplemented his scholarship by working a number of odd jobs, bill-collector and repo-man among the more colorful ones.  As you might imagine, teaching at Bishop McDevitt on the “girls’ side,” at the then-gender-divided school, was a welcome improvement.

This former high school basketball star was asked to coach the McDevitt girls’ softball team.  (The job of basketball coach was taken.)  The girls’ softball team won the division championship that first year and would continue to excel under his guidance for the next ten years.  “Mr. Hanley,” as so many of us still call him, was a loyal supporter of girls’ sports and the school’s female athletes’ best advocate.  He drove the buses to away games for all the McDevitt girls’ teams.  He fought to open the padlocked gym so the girls’ basketball team could warm up before games.  As Assistant Athletic Director, also known as the “Girls Athletic Director,” Mr. Hanley personally went to Cheltenham Township to request permission to build the field hockey and softball fields behind the school.  (The girls had been playing at public parks, risking injury from broken glass and “chuck holes.”)  With help from our fondly remembered chemistry teacher, the late Jim Ferris, and another former McDevitt student, Mr. Hanley constructed the softball backstop and portable field hockey goals himself.   He also borrowed a turf-cutter from the groundskeeper at Temple University’s football stadium, took a personal day, and cut and laid the softball field’s infield…in the pouring rain, as stunned students and teachers watched from the school’s windows.

The McDevitt girls’ basketball team was still wearing dated, faded, mustard-colored jumpers they had to iron, when other teams did not.  With Father Foster’s approval, Mr. Hanley designed new uniforms for the team, washing them in “Cold Power” detergent in the school’s laundry room.  Fellow teachers and close friends Mike Burns, Jim Ferris, and the late Tom McNutt jokingly suggested he do commercials for “Cold Power,” which he said he used because he didn’t want the uniform colors to fade.  Mr. Hanley also designed stylish uniforms for the softball team. The girls had been wearing McDevitt t-shirts with their own clothing. And with the help of some handy McDevitt dads and some surplus carpeting, curtains and paneling, Mr. Hanley converted an empty ground floor storage closet into a private dressing room for the school’s female athletes.  (They had been changing in the school bathrooms, taping their ankles in a classroom. The boys had their own locker room.)

Mr. Hanley’s fellow McDevitt teachers became his closest friends. He was asked to deliver the eulogy for our dearly missed Legend of McDevitt Tom McNutt at his funeral in 2022. Tom was Bill’s best friend.  Mr. William K. Hanley taught math at Bishop McDevitt from 1967 until 1989. Many of his former students call him the “best teacher they ever had.”

And, to connect the dots with our opening statement, before there was Title IX, female athletes at Bishop McDevitt knew they had an ally who fought for them and cheered them on, and Mr. Hanley has followed the careers of many McDevitt student-athletes ever since. He continues to support women’s sports at all levels of competition. Honor, honesty, selflessness and generosity govern how he has lived his life, both personally and professionally.

With thanks to his nominator – Her name may be familiar to you.  Feel free to guess before I tell you that it’s my 1973 classmate and 2023 Hall of Fame member (wait for it…) Jane Metlzer, (allow a moment for laughter) – please welcome a true Legend of Bishop McDevitt High School, Mr. William K. Hanley.