Peter M. McDermott

Peter Michael McDermott passed away April 4th, 2023 surrounded by his friends and family. He was born in Akron, Ohio on July 29th, 1964 to Charles & Rosalie McDermott. He was a graduate of Archbishop Hoban High School, class of 82’ and was a proud Hoban Knight. He was a lifelong musician and was known as “The Hammer”, a nickname he was gifted for being an outstanding drummer. He went from playing in his garage to joining his first band, Xavier. 

After Xavier, Pete became the drummer for “Jim Ballard & The Chains” and brushed shoulders with many notable acts such as Bachman Turner Overdrive & 10,000 Maniacs. After semi-retiring from music, he formed “Time Piece”, a local cover band that wasn’t as committal as his past projects and gave him the time to love and raise his most proud accomplishment; his son, Sean. Later in life, Pete formed a new band named “Retrofit”. With this project, Pete wrote & sang lead vocals on half the songs as well as playing drums on every song. He was tremendously proud of their album, “Guardian Angel”. Pete was a lifelong Beatles fanatic and loved caring for his massive “Beatles Museum” in his basement. Pete loved yard work, cleaning his house, Monday Night Football and making people laugh. He will always be remembered for his classic saying, “I’m Just Pete”. 

Pete was proceeded in death by his parents, Chuck & Rose.Pete will be dearly missed by his only son, Sean (Emma) McDermott, his sisters Tami (Dave) Folk & Marianne (Gilbert) Gradisar and his loving girlfriend of 5 years, Cheryl Horvath. He will always be remembered and missed by his countless friends, his nieces & nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles and all of those who got to experience his heartwarming conversations.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to Summa Medical (Barberton & Akron) for their tremendous care for him and to Wadsworth Pointe Skilled Nursing Facility for their extremely loving approach to making him feel at home. Special thanks is also extended to The Hodgkiss Family, The Ballard Family, The Kay(Watson) Family & The Haskins Family. 

Friends may call Wednesday, April 12th from 5-8pm at HOPKINS LAWVER FUNERAL HOME (547 Canton Road, Akron, Ohio 44312). Funeral mass will be celebrated the following morning on Thursday, April 13th at 10am at St. Matthews Catholic Church (2603 Benton Street, Akron, Ohio 44312) with Father Michael Williamson presiding. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials/donations to 91.3 The Summits “Keep Music Alive” Program. The Summit collects and repairs instruments, and sees that they get placed in the hands of kids who will truly appreciate them. 

In closing, put on a Beatles record, close your eyes & know that Pete is right there with you telling you every detail about the album.