McKeesport mourns the loss of
Council VP Jamie Brewster Filotei
The McKeesport Area community
has rallied around the Filotei and
Brewster families since the passing of
Jamie Brewster-Filotei, vice president of
McKeesport City Council.
Filotei died peacefully at home on May
12. She was 46.
On May 15, Filotei’s funeral procession
traveled through McKeesport, with
crowds gathered in front of city buildings
and McKeesport Area high school.
Friends, coworkers, and former students
and families participated to pay their
respects and say goodbye.
Mayor Michael Cherepko extended his
deepest sympathies to the Filotei and
Brewster families and to the McKeesport
community as a whole.
“Jamie is a lifelong McKeesporter who
dedicated every aspect of her life to our
community,” Mr. Cherepko said. “We can
think of she and her husband, Kenny,
raising their own family in the community
that molded them. We can look back
on Jamie working with generations of
McKeesport Area students to guarantee
they had access to a first-class education.
We can reflect on her long history of
volunteer work or her time on City
Council. No matter what area of her life
we examine, we see a woman who loved
the city of McKeesport and its residents.
I’m proud to have served with Jamie and
to call her a friend.”
As a member of city council, Filotei
worked with the Burt Foster American
Legion Post 361 to help manage
McKeesport’s veterans banner program,
which honored local
soldiers by hanging
banners in the city
commemorating their
service. She had worked
in the McKeesport Area
School District as an
elementary teacher for
24 years.
Before her time in
public service, Filotei
was an accomplished athlete and received
a basketball scholarship to Mansfield
University, where she received a degree
in education. She was a member of the
Christy Park United Methodist Church,
the Kiwanis Club of McKeesport, and was
involved with the Girls on the Run.
CITY OF MCKEESPORT NEWS
cKeesport
Lape sworn in to serve on City Council
Jill Brewster Lape was sworn into
office on June 3 to fulfill the term of
her beloved sister, the late Council Vice
President Jamie Brewster Filotei.
“Jamie was my role model and best
friend,” Lape said. “I hope to make my
sister and my city proud.”
Lape, 40, is a lifelong McKeesport
resident, who currently resides in the
city’s Twelfth Ward with her husband
Jeff Lape and their children, Maxson and
Lucas. Many families know Lape as a
third-grade teacher at Twin Rivers Elementary in the McKeesport
Area School District. She graduated with honors from Serra
Catholic High School in 1998. After graduation she was
awarded a basketball scholarship to attend West Virginia State,
where she earned a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Business Administration with a
concentration in Finance. While playing for
the Lady Yellowjackets and volunteering at
the local schools, Lape realized her passion
was working with youth. After returning
home, she continued her education at Point
Park University and earned a Bachelor of
Arts Degree in Elementary Education.
Lape’s passion for teaching was realized
in 2007, when she was hired as teacher in
her hometown of McKeesport. Lape also
serves on the board of Pure Penn’s McKeesport Community Fund
where she works closely with Mayor Cherepko and other leaders
to support the revitalization of McKeesport.
MCKEESPORT AREA ❘ SUMMER 2020 17