5 minute read
The Dever Family: A Team in Marple
by Craig Whitney
The Dever Family at Kent Park in Marple Township. Left to Right: Julia, Christina, Colleen, Ed, and Mikayla
Photo by Michele Moran www.MicheleMoranPhotography.com
The Devers are a very active family, fully committed to the Marple community. The Dever children are all multi-sport athletes who put the majority of their time and energy toward their teams and their friends. Through the many teams and activities in the Devers’ lives, they have built a strong network of friends and teammates in Marple.
Ed and Colleen Dever first met in high school. Ed attended Bonner; Colleen attended Prendie. The two would become close and their friend groups would begin to merge over the years, but they were still only friends when they left for college.
It wasn't until after graduating college that the two would start dating. Only a year after they started dating, they were engaged and ready to start their lives together.
Ed and Colleen Dever
Photo by Michele Moran www.MicheleMoranPhotography.com
“We had spent enough time in Drexel Hill and Upper Darby,” Ed explained. “We were ready for the other side of the Blue Route, something a little farther from the city with more space.”
When their youngest daughter Christina was born 12 years ago, the Devers finally moved to a bigger home and the community they would want to raise their children in. They were driving down streets in Marple when they found a neighborhood with beautiful large trees and sidewalks on every street. Right away, Colleen knew this would be the home for them.
Marple would be the perfect place to raise their three daughters, and Saint Anastasia would be the perfect church and school for them as well. Their oldest daughter, Mikayla, is currently 16 and attends the Academy of Notre Dame. Julia, 15 years old, is also at Academy of Notre Dame. Christina, 12, still goes to Saint Anastasia where Mikayla and Julia graduated.
All three girls have had very positive and impactful experiences with their schools and the communities in the school. All three play basketball and lacrosse for their school, two sports that Ed and Colleen love and have been able to share that passion with their children. Mikayla is more serious about lacrosse and Julia is slightly more focused on basketball, but the two sports are fundamental parts of both of their lives and Ed and Colleen love how involved they have been in these teams.
Mikayla is described by Ed as the one with the biggest heart, always ready to give. “She is always trying to do the right thing, always eager to give to others,” Ed said lovingly.
Ed stressed that Julia has a big heart too, but that she can also be tough as nails, in his words. When playing sports, she will fall to the ground more than anyone else and still be the first one back up.
Christina was described as the sweetest member of the family, she’s always happy and can always make people smile. “It’s like her goal is to always make people happy,” Ed marveled.
The Dever Girls (L to R): Christina (12), Julia (15), and Mikayla 16)
Photo by Michele Moran www.MicheleMoranPhotography.com
“It’s great having three girls, I can’t imagine my life without them, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” Ed said with a loving sigh that comes with raising three daughters and making it to the other side in one happy piece.
Sports have always been very important to all the girls and to Colleen and Ed, but it’s not just the games and the practices with the other girls their age that make their time in sports special. There is a true friendship and community that comes from a team working together all season toward a common goal. Last summer, The Devers and several other families from the girls’ teams traveled to the Outer Banks in South Carolina and spent two weeks together relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. “It was a wonderful memory for our kids, I’m very happy that we managed to get it all together,” Colleen said.
The trip to the Outer Banks was a fun trip that they don’t take all the time. Most summers they spend in Sea Isle City or Cape May. Ed and Colleen both grew up going to Sea Isle every summer but they now spend a lot of vacation time in Cape May since Colleen’s parents bought a beach house there. Ed worked as a bartender at Ocean Drive in Sea Isle for several summers and still loves spending time there. “If you go down in late July or early August, you’ll see half of Delaware County, that’s just a truth we’ve come to accept,” Colleen laughed.
The Dever Family
Photo by Michele Moran www.MicheleMoranPhotography.com
Ed and Colleen have always been involved in their daughters’ sports in some way or another. Colleen has been coaching girls’ lacrosse since her daughters were very young, first starting at the Marple Newtown JV girls team when they desperately needed a new coach. She would then transition to coaching Saint Anastasia when Mikayla was old enough to play, but she and some other moms from the school had to create a team first. That first act of creativity and boldness would pay off in years of friendship, fun and teamwork for all of her daughters. “It can be stressful and hectic, but I love it, I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life once they get older and we don’t go to their games every day,” Colleen joked with a hint of seriousness.
Sports being a tool for friendship and bonding is something that the Devers have always understood and appreciated. Ed has coached the girls’ basketball teams, and he still plays pickup basketball with some other men from Saint Anastasia at least once or twice a week. Colleen has played basketball too, and is currently very excited at the thought of getting tennis lessons and becoming skilled in that sport as well.
Sports, when used wisely, become a fun and collaborative language that brings a team together and builds friendships that last a lifetime. Ed and Colleen have been able to build lifelong friendships at every stage in their life, from their friends from high school to the families of their daughters’ friends. Similarly to Ed’s professional relationships, a network of friendships have been built and spread around the Marple community.
Since coming to Marple 12 years ago, the Devers are very thankful to have found many close friends and neighbors along the way.
If you would like to nominate a neighbor who might like to be featured in one of our upcoming issues, contact us at cwhitney@bestversionmedia.com.
