Hugh D. McKay, Jr., of Ft. Worth, went home to the Lord on May 2, 2022 surrounded by his loving family. An extremely generous, caring, and deeply devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, he was born on October 13th 1929. He was the son of the late Ellen and Hugh Dixon McKay, Sr. He was predeceased by the love of his life, Modell Farmer McKay, with whom he shared 40 extraordinary years. Hugh was born in New York City but called Ft. Worth his home for the last 50 years.
Hugh lived a remarkably storied life full of adventure, travel, and community service. He attended Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and joined the U.S. Air Force; proudly serving his country for 20 years. His distinguished military career earned him the rank of major. As a bombardier/navigator he was stationed in various state-side locations and overseas. He flew on the first operational nuclear-capable jet bomber; the B-45 Tornado. His favorite duty station was RAF Sculthorpe in England flying on the B-45 and he was stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War. He flew on 24-hour airborne alert missions in the B-52 Stratofortress (Operation Chrome Dome) during the Cold War to thwart Soviet aggression. After his service in the Air Force, he completed a 20-year civilian career at Transport Life Insurance Company in Ft. Worth
Hugh was a warm hearted, gregarious, civic-minded man who truly enjoyed being around other people. He was a long-time member of the Fort Worth Founders Lions Club (Past President and other officer positions), the Military Order of the World Wars (Adjutant), and the Sons of the American Revolution. He was an ordained Elder at First Presbyterian in Fort Worth and a past member of The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Texas. He was also a Free Mason.
Hugh enjoyed a wide variety of interesting hobbies that he shared with his family and friends. He loved motorsports and attended the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He owned two Austin Healey sports cars which he drove in rallies while in England. His favorite hobbies were skiing, photography, personal computers, and building electronic devices such as TVs and stereos. He was an avid collector of military firearms, reloaded ammunition, and enjoyed target shooting. He traveled extensively with Modell. Together they visited many countries on five continents and had the rare opportunity to see Antarctica while sailing around Cape Horn. Above all else, Hugh loved his family. He immensely enjoyed large family gatherings and he and Modell were always proud of the many generations gathering at their home for frequent family events.
In addition to his parents and wife, he was predeceased by his brother Cotton McKay. He is survived by his by six children: Ellen McKinney (Carey), Denise Griffin (Randy), Dixon McKay (Melodee), William Melton (Nancy), Charles Melton (Tricia), and Gary Melton (Janet). He is also survived by his 11 grandchildren: Elizabeth Harmon, Lee Griffin (Hannah), Victoria Dunson (Blake), Christine Griffin, Hugh McKay IV, Skylar Castellaw, Katie Melton (Promad), Nick Melton (Stephanie), Elle Melton, Annie Melton, Chris Melton. He is also survived by six great grandchildren: Jaida Bell, Karson Bell, Drew Harmon, Ava Dunson, Alex Sanders and Liam Hardeman. He is also survived by his former spouse June Howard.
The family will receive friends on Wednesday, May 11 from 6-8PM at Shannon Rose Hill Funeral Chapel & Cemetery, 7301 East Lancaster Ave., Ft. Worth, TX, 76112. Funeral service will be held on Thursday, May 12 at 2PM at the First Presbyterian Church, 1000 Penn St., Ft. Worth, TX, 76102. Interment is in Rye, New York at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Military Order of the World Wars or the Ft. Worth Founders Lion’s Club. Hugh’s family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the staff and nurses at Trinity Terrace, Bluebird Home Care, and Community Hospice for their genuine, high-quality care.
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