Harold McKinney

Funeral services for Harold E. “Mac” McKinney, 89, Lawrence, KS, will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence.  Burial with full military honors will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence.  He died on Friday, December 10, 2010 at his home in Lawrence.

Mac was born July 23, 1921, on a farm in Halfway, MO, the son of Floyd and Mary Enyart McKinney.  He ran his family’s farm after the death of his father until entering the Army Air Corps in 1941, just after Pearl Harbor.  He served as an electrician and an airplane mechanic in the military. (The Army Air Corps became the Air Force in 1943.) He was injured while serving and received an honorable discharge in 1945, after spending several months in the Army/Navy Hospital in Hot Springs, AR.

Harold attended trade schools in Kansas City, MO and Connecticut.  In 1958, he opened and ran a business machines sales and repair store at 9th and Massachusetts in Lawrence.  The building was sold to the First National Bank (now the US Bank tower).  He subsequently worked for eight years for Hercules, Inc., a manufacturer of rocket and other propellants in DeSoto, KS.  While there, he received the Award for Merit for plant cost reduction. He trained Vietnam veterans in office machine repairs at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka for three years and worked as plant operator for Kansas Power and Light (now Westar Energy) in Lawrence for almost sixteen years until his retirement in 1989.  He and his wife Martha also operated a small cattle farm northeast of Lawrence from 1959 through 2004.

While in the military based at Garden City, KS, Harold met Martha Blackwood when he and a friend were invited to dinner with Martha’s family.  They were married on June 11, 1944, in Garden City, KS.  She survives of the home.

Other survivors include two daughters, Karen McKinney of Lawrence, Kathy Nace and husband Mark of Lawrence; two sons, Rod McKinney of El Dorado Hills, CA, Scott McKinney and wife Susie of Lawrence; a brother, Kenneth McKinney, of Rockwall, TX; and nine grandchildren: Jordan McKinney, Jeremiah Johnson, Jessica Nicholson, Eric Nicholson, Ginny Nace, Kaitlin McKinney, Keegan McKinney, Logan McKinney and Liam McKinney.

The family will greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, December 13, 2010 at the mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials in his name to the Christ Covenant Church Mercy Fund or to the Veritas Christian School Scholarship Fund, and may be sent in care of the mortuary.

The family would treasure your written memories of Mac left at this website.  There will also be an opportunity to share your memories at the service. 
 

6 Condolences

  1. Kathy (McKinney) Nace on December 11, 2010 at 12:00 am

    I will always think of my dad when I see the watermelon arrive at market! He taught me how to thump them to test for ripeness, and I was ever so proud when I could consistently “pick a good one” for him to enjoy these past few years! I recall there always being an unopened one PLUS a half, chilling in the extra fridge on the porch. You couldn’t risk running short of watermelon!!



  2. Lyndel & Judy McKinney on December 11, 2010 at 12:00 am

    So very sorry to hear of Cousin Harold’s passing. We haven’t stayed in touch with you folks as well as we should have since Aunt Mary’s passing. We have thought often of you,though, Martha, and wondered how things were going with you and Harold.
    Please know our warmest sympathy is with you and the rest of the family. I am sorry that we aren’t good at knowing what to say at times like these, but know that you are thought of and loved.
    Lyndel & Judy–Halfway, MO.



  3. Dorothe Dowell on December 11, 2010 at 12:00 am

    I thought of my cousin Harold as my
    Harold Angel.This “became”, when he made the 3 hour drive (almost)12 years ago to attend my Dad’s funeral. His presence “saved-my-life”; as he was the only one (there) who knew my Dad– the way I knew him. He and my Dad were first cousins. My Grandpa whom I never met was his “Uncle Ben”. Cousin Harold told me numerous stories about my grandpa. And about my Dad when they were little. Most recent a visit was laced with fun, about cat-fish,buffalo’s, “unauthorized” campers, bears, and guns.<3 U



  4. Kelly Cavner on December 11, 2010 at 12:00 am

    I occasionally helped take care of Mac & Martha when the family needed an extra hand the last couple of years. It was an honor to know Mac. Every time I greeted him I asked “So how are you today?” And he’d say, “Well I don’t know. Nobody’s told me yet.” So I’d say “Well then, I say you’re good!” and we’d laugh. He taught me a lot about history and family and often made me laugh with his sometimes ornery-ness. I’ll miss him very much.



  5. Kelly Cavner on December 11, 2010 at 12:00 am

    I occasionally helped take care of Mac & Martha when the family needed an extra hand the last couple of years. It was an honor to know Mac. Every time I greeted him I asked “So how are you today?” And he’d say, “Well I don’t know. Nobody’s told me yet.” So I’d say “Well then, I say you’re good!” and we’d laugh. He taught me a lot about history and family and often made me laugh with his sometimes ornery-ness. I’ll miss him very much.



  6. Ginny O'Keefe Hedges on December 19, 2010 at 12:00 am

    My Mom, Lillian O’Keefe, used to work for Mac at Business Machines on Mass. St. My sister and I would stop by on the way home from school to say hi to my Mom and Eloise Rogers, and Mac was always so friendly to us. He was a good friend to my Mom too. He taught her how to run a printing press, and eventually she bought one of her own and had a small business using it. It was a job, but also a hobby, thanks to Mac. I am so sorry for your family’s loss.



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