The late Ryan McGinty, a 2005 graduate of the now-defunct Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote (Cheltenham Township), was honored in the Northeast Times for posthumously helping his family raise more than $100,000 in tuition assistance to help student-athletes at the family’s parish through the Ryan McGinty Memorial Foundation.

McGinty was a Lancer football and basketball player who died in April 2003 after a fight against Large T-Cell Lymphoma.

“Ryan was a special young man, anyone he would meet, became his friend,” his dad told the Times. “He was genuine, sincere, and wanted nothing but the best for everyone. We hear people talk about Ryan, it’s always said, what a special young man.

“Bishop McDevitt in 2005 posthumously graduated Ryan, his mom and I accepted his diploma. We waited behind as the families left and when we went to leave there was a young man waiting for us. He said he needed to share that when he and Ryan were freshmen, this young man was picked on, and on one occasion Ryan witnessed this and it was the last time he was ever picked on, he stated that Ryan made it known, this is my friend! That was our Ryan.”

On January 2, 2005, Bishop McDevitt’s renovated gym was dedicated to his memory.

“The McGinty family via the Ryan McGinty Memorial Foundation raised more than $170,000 for improvements to the gym, most notably a brand new hardwood floor that was named The Ryan McGinty Court at Bishop McDevitt,” Friends of Bishop McDevitt said in a 2023 Facebook post.

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Photos: Friends of Bishop McDevitt Facebook page