Patricia (Ford) Loeb '73 

“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.