John “Buckshot” McKay passed away peacefully, with his family by his side, April 30, 2023, two months after celebrating his 100th birthday.  John was born February 26, 1923, to father Benjamin Franklin McKay Jr. and Sylvia Rudd McKay, in Independence, Kansas.  He was the second youngest of nine children.

John and his family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma when he was in the second grade.  John loved all sports and made the elementary school football team.  At the age of 13, he began caddying at the local golf course.  He continued to play football and golf throughout his high school years.

John graduated from high school in 1940 and attended Northern Oklahoma Junior College in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, on a football scholarship.  At the end of his first semester, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, John dropped out of school to join the US Marine Corp to serve his country.

John trained in San Diego and saw combat in the Marshall Islands.  He participated in the invasion of Okinawa and the battle for Yontan Airfield.  While there, he flew as a rear gunner, and when not flying, he was a target spotter for dive bombers on the front line.  After Japan surrendered, John, with 17 other Marines, was flown to Japan on a B-25 piloted by famous actor, Tyrone Powers.  John spent six months in Japan charged with the job of destroying Japanese war equipment.

John returned home and continued his education at Northern Oklahoma Junior College, where he met his future wife, Jerry.  John was captain of the football team, and Jerry was homecoming queen.  They married August 26, 1949, after John graduated from Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State University, where he received a master’s degree in educational administration.

John served as the high school football coach for Holdenville High School, in Oklahoma.  He left Holdenville to become the athletic director for the Irving ISD, and then moved to Rockwall, Texas, to become the high school principal for the Rockwall ISD.  After leaving the field of public education, he worked as a project manager for the U.S. Department of Labor manpower training program, a profession that took him to New Mexico, Oklahoma and finally back to Texas where he retired.

John never lost his love for sports, especially football, golf, and baseball.  A big fan of college football, OU and OSU were his favorite teams; however, during football season, Saturdays were devoted to watching all the teams play.  When football season was over, he turned to baseball with the Texas Rangers being his favorite baseball team.  He never missed the major golf tournaments and could easily bring anyone up to speed on the rankings of the golfers.

Always proud of his military career, it was with great pride that John accepted an invitation to participate in Honor Flight 18 sponsored by the Honor Flight DFW organization.  In April 2014, John traveled, with other veterans, to Washington DC, to visit the WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Marine (Iwo Jima), Navy and Air Force Memorials and Arlington Cemetery.  He could often be seen wearing the commemorative jacket and hat that was presented to the veterans during the visit.

John spent the last years of his life as a resident of The Remington of Valley Ranch where he made many good friends. At the age of 98, director Lori Griffo, discovered that John had always wanted to become a pilot and arranged a flying lesson for him at Addison Airport.  One of his lifelong dreams was made a reality and a bucket list item was checked.

The last of his generation, John is proceeded in death by his wife of 71 years, Jerry; son, Mike McKay; mother, Sylvia Rudd McKay; father, Benjamin Franklin McKay, Jr.; sisters, Sylvia Norton, Margarete Keller, Irene Lewis, Jean Groom, Doris Tipton, and Jewel McKay; brothers, Frank McKay and Don McKay.  Left to cherish his memory and carry on his legacy of love and strength are daughter, Karla McKay Munroe and husband, Clifton; son, Frank Tipton (Tip) McKay and wife, Jerry; son, John Christopher Kirk McKay and wife, Debra; grandchildren, Cody McKay and wife, Cortney, Chris McKay, Cari McKay Flurry and husband, Blaine, Justin Munroe and wife Mandy, Mitch Munroe and wife, Aide, Ryan Munroe and wife Catherine, Kyler McKay and Kyra McKay; great grandchildren: Dylan McKay, Berlin Flurry, Olivia Munroe, Gabriel Munroe, Avery Munroe, Cayden Munroe, Evie Mae Munroe, Grayson Munroe, Sawyer McKay; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and friends who will miss John dearly.