Ballfield named in memory of Jamie Brewster Filotei

By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com

More than 100 people gathered Wednesday at Renziehausen Park to pay tribute to a late McKeesport Area teacher, who was also a McKeesport city councilwoman.
The group of past and present McKeesport Area School District students, teachers, school board members, state elected officials and others joined with the family and friends of the late Jamie Brewster Filotei and McKeesport officials to dedicate a ballfield to her memory at Renzie Park.
The field, which is located in the Sulphur Springs section of the park, is now officially known as Jamie Brewster Filotei Memorial Field and will be used by area youth sports teams and athletic organizations.
Brewster Filotei, who was the city’s council vice president at the time, passed away May 12, 2020, at age 46, after a hard-fought battle with cancer.
Mayor Michael Cherepko said city officials thought it fitting that the field bear the name of Brewster Filotei, who played softball in her youth, was also a scholarship-winning basketball player and formerly served as a basketball coach.
State Sen. Jim Brewster, a McKeesport Democrat who is also Brewster Filotei’s father, was joined by Jamie’s husband, Ken, her children Nina and TJ, Jamie’s mother, Linda Brewster, Jamie’s sisters Jill Lape and Jodi Adams, and other members of the family in revealing a sign at the field, which features Brewster Filotei’s official McKeesport council portrait and an inscription about the kind of wife, mother, teacher and community leader she was.
Brewster Filotei’s family also unveiled a bench, which is McKeesport Tigers’ red and blue and includes the late councilwoman’s name and birth and death dates, that was paid for and designed by the staff at Sen. Brewster’s office.
After speeches from Cherepko and the senator and a prayer from Pastor William B. Meekins Jr. of the McKeesport Shared Ministerium, Brewster Filotei’s family, friends, former colleagues and neighbors gathered to talk about the life and legacy of the community leader.
Many remarked that because Brewster Filotei passed away amid the pandemic — while gathering restrictions and social distancing orders even impacted funeral gatherings — Wednesday was the first time they got to gather in fellowship with Brewster Filotei’s loved ones to pray, laugh and cry together.
To christen the newly named field, a group of youngsters — including Brewster Filotei’s daughter, Nina; her nephews, Max and Lucas; and some of her former students — broke out their bats, balls and gloves for catch and a quick pick-up game with city police Chief Adam Alfer.

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Jeff Stitt / Mon Valley Independent
Many of Jamie Brewster Filotei’s former students from the McKeesport Area School District visited Renzie Park Wednesday to pay tribute to their former teacher. On a bench dedicated Wednesday in Brewster Filotei’s honor, from left, are Jeanell Platt, Jesse Richard, Garrett Tarker and Daniel Krijdovsky. Behind the bench are Jordan Stuvaints and MASD graduate Katy Babyak.

Nina Filotei, daughter of the late Jamie Brewster Filotei, throws out one of the first pitches at a ballfield at Renzie Park that was dedicated to her mother’s memory Wednesday.