Longtime DLN photographer Larry McDevitt dies at 76

WEST CHESTER » Longtime former Daily Local News photographer Larry McDevitt died Thursday night.

McDevitt, of West Chester, began his first day on the payroll of the Daily Local News on May 12, 1960, just before his 19th birthday. He retired at 70 in August 2011. He was known for telling a story through his photographs and

he often covered breaking news during his more than 50 years at the newspaper.

“Everybody knew him, all the cops and the firefighters … all the sports teams,” former Daily Local News Editor-in-Chief Andy Hachadorian said. “He shot photos of multiple generations.”

Hachadorian said when there was breaking news, he knew that McDevitt would be there to get photographs. When McDevitt was in the newsroom and heard a dispatch on the scanner for a building fire, car crash or shooting, for example, McDevitt would grab his bag and go.

“He was always calm under pressure,” Hachadorian said. “He was good at what he did and he was dedicated.”

McDevitt also spent his time at the Square Bar in West Chester and when he heard about breaking news or other tips, he would call from the bar and tell his editors, “I got it.” Sometimes an editor would call the Square Bar and ask for him. Hachadorian said he could hear the employees yell to McDevitt and tell him that the “Local” was calling.

The Square Bar posted on Facebook on Friday that “Heaven gained a beautiful soul last night! You were a huge part of Square Bar and our family. We won’t be the same without you! Sending prayers and love to the McDevitt family.”

McDevitt knew about newspapers, learning from his late father, Daily Local News sports editor Hugh V. “Butch” McDevitt. He tagged along with his father to sporting events and on the news beat when his father was promoted to managing

editor. McDevitt was on the sidelines with his father during West Chester University football games in the 1960s and he became a full-time photographer in the 1970s. He later became the chief photographer.

“For more than 50 years Larry was the foundation of the Daily Local News,” publisher Edward Condra said. “Larry was involved in every aspect of the business and made everything he touched better. His contributions to our business are incalculable, we will miss our friend.”

Hachadorian described McDevitt as an old-school photographer because he worked with film. McDevitt began his photography work at the newspaper when there was a darkroom in the now former East Bradford building and photographers developed and printed their own shots for the next day’s edition. Later, they used a computer so color negatives could be scanned into a composing program. All of the newspaper’s

photos are shot and processed digitally now.

“It was no big deal for him,” Hachadorian said, “he learned it.”

Hachadorian described McDevitt as a great employee who willingly learned and adapted to the changing technology. He added that McDevitt was always calm about doing his job and didn’t let the chatter on the scanner distress him.

Former Daily Local News reporter and managing editor Bruce Mowday described McDevitt as a reliable photographer who covered various assignments and enjoyed photographing West Chester parades and human interest stories. He was well known in Chester County because of his photography.

“He was the guy you could count on,” said Mowday, who added that McDevitt was a likeable guy who worked well with the reporters and was “well respected and known in the community.”

Mowday worked with McDevitt in the field from 1974-94, covering trials and general assignments. He said that McDevitt took the best photos and he had the experience to know the “type of shots you needed for the newspaper story.”

Mowday recalled one of his favorites times working with McDevitt was following tips about a murder and other crimes. Mowday wrote about a book about his experience as a journalist titled “Jailing the Johnston Gang.” The saga of the Johnston family, who ran a burglary ring in the southern end of the county that specialized in farm equipment, also formed the basis for the movie “At Close Range.”

“He was a newspaper man basically from day one,” Mowday said. “He always

seemed to be around with his camera.”

McDevitt had a string of photographing every U.S. president during his career since Gerald Ford, at events in the county before or after their elections, but he missed out on covering Barack Obama, who visited West Chester University.

McDevitt and his late wife Joan were inseparable. They were married for 46 years until her death in November 2014. Joan was employed as a clerk at the Daily Local News, where she met her husband.

Larry McDevitt