Obituary for John Michael McDevitt

John Michael McDevitt, an avid and accomplished athlete known for his generosity, compassion and loyalty to friends and family, died in Fairfax, Va., on Friday, Oct. 31. He was 22.  

A passionate fan of the Washington Redskins, Capitals and Nationals, McDevitt graduated in 2010 from Robinson High School in Fairfax, where he was a defensive back on the varsity football team. He was the quarterback of the Rams’ freshman and junior varsity teams and was elevated to play in several varsity games during his freshman year. From the time he was six years old, he played baseball for Braddock Road Little League and football for Braddock Road Youth Conference.  

In July 2012, McDevitt completed the Ocean Challenge leadership program in Kodiak, Alaska. He had taken courses at Northern Virginia Community College and Blue Ridge Community College. During the final weeks of his life, McDevitt volunteered at the Universal Peace Federation’s Washington D.C. office and he had plans to continue working with UPF.

McDevitt also had committed to working with his father, Thomas Patrick McDevitt, chairman of The Washington Times and its Board of Directors, to prepare a lecture series addressing the renewal of America’s culture. He had been active in Sunday school at the Unification Family Church in Northern Virginia.

In the years following high school, McDevitt also worked for Starbucks, Best Buy, Rio’s and Wegman’s Grocery.

Born on Jan. 15, 1992, in North Springfield, Va., McDevitt was the fifth son of Mr. McDevitt and the late Soonja Lee McDevitt. who died in 2002 of stomach cancer at the age of 52.

Mr. McDevitt said the last words his wife shared with John, who was 10 at the time, were, “Please don’t ever forget your identity as a Blessed Child.” Mr. McDevitt said the last words his son said to him when he was dropped off at Harrison House of Virginia treatment center were, “I love you, Dad.”

Mr. McDevitt thanked the staff at Harrison House of Virginia and UPF for their care of his son in the final weeks of his life.

Mr. McDevitt said John and his four brothers loved snowboarding in the winter and vacationing every summer in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. He had developed a keen talent for video games, and regularly attended the Daytona 500 and other NASCAR races with his cousin, Waky.

In addition to his father, McDevitt is survived by his four brothers, Macklee Thomas, Casato Joseph, Joehun Daniel, and Patrick James McDevitt; grandmothers, Beverly Jean McDevitt and Sang Chon Park and numerous uncles, aunts and cousins.

McDevitt will be laid to rest adjacent to his mother’s grave in the Unification Church community site at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Bladensburg, Md.

Seongwha (funeral) services are 10:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 10 at the Fort Lincoln Funeral Home, 3401 Bladensburg, Md 20722. A viewing will take place from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The burial service will be at Fort Lincoln Cemetery at 12:30 p.m. 

A reception will be held at The Washington Times Arbor Ballroom at 1:30 p.m, 3600 New York Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 

In lieu of flowers, donations will be gratefully received by mail c/o McDevitt Family Seonghwa, P.O. Box 3168, Fairfax, Virginia, 22038-3168. Online contributions can be made at  https://www.youcaring.com/farewell.to.John.McDevitt.

All contributions beyond funeral costs will be used to support a grassroots leadership program to renew America’s culture with an emphasis on youth and family in line with John McDevitt’s passion.