Robert James McKay
Robert James McKay, 78, went to live with our Lord and Savior and the wife he loved on March 25, 2023 after a short but valiant fight with brain cancer. He passed at Christiana Hospital’s Accent Hospice Wing in Wilmington, DE.
Born in Dunellen, NJ in 1944, he was the youngest of 3 children of the late Frances “Vi” (Scalera) and W. Earl McKay. When Bob was 8 years old, the family would move to Boonton, NJ. Bob grew up loving baseball and especially the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees.
Bob attended Boonton High School until 1961 when he left to join the work force. He learned the trade that carried him through most of his life – being a heavy equipment operator.
In 1970, Bob met and married the love of his life, Joanne (Lucas) McKay and spent 52 years married to her through all of life’s ups and downs. The ups included the births of two daughters, Kris and Betsy. The downs culminated when Joanne left him behind to make a place for them in Heaven on July 3, 2022 after her long battle with numerous illnesses. Bob worked many part time jobs to give his family a good life–bartender, landscaper, loading trucks, or running heavy equipment. But Bob always found time to be there for his family and friends.
In 1986, Bob and Joanne would move their family to Muncy, Pennsylvania. He and Joanne worked side by side as the proprietors of McKay’s Hardware in Muncy until 1999. Bob was well known to open the store after hours for someone’s home emergency or when there was flooding in the area and people needed pumps or cleaning supplies. After closing the store, Bob would go on to work at Lowe’s Home Improvement Center in Montoursville, PA.
When Bob and Joanne finally decided to “retire” in 2012, they chose to move closer to their girls and moved to Frederica, DE. However, Bob was never a man of leisure and soon took a part time job again working for Lowe’s, but this time in Camden, DE.
Bob lived a life of service to his community and fellow man. He worked for the Town of Boonton Street Department for over 20 years as a heavy equipment operator building streets and plowing snow to keep drivers safe. He was a 57 year member of Boonton Fire Department’s South Boonton Hose and Engine Company where he held the ranks of chief driver, lieutenant, and captain as well as many other positions. He is a past president of New Jersey State Exempt Firemen’s Association. In Muncy, he was elected as a supervisor in Muncy Creek Township and held the seat for over 20 years until they moved. Even in his “retirement”, Bob held the office of HOA President for the East Bay Point development where he and Joanne lived.
Besides his parents and beloved wife, Bob was preceded in death by his mother and father-in-law Neva and Jim Lucas, his older brother and sister-in-law William and Shirley McKay, and brother-in-law Jerry Orlando. Surviving to carry on his memory are his two daughters and sons-in-law Kris (Bob) Langer of Mechanicsburg, PA and Betsy (Shawn) Lanouette of Lewes DE; 3 granddaughters Caitlyn, Paige and Lila; older sister Arlene Orlando of Whippany, NJ, sisters-in-law Linda (Rudy) Moyer of Muncy, PA, Janey (Everett) Horton of Mt Juliet, TN, Becky (Wayne) Pratt of Wake Forest, NC; and brother-in-law Jim (Pam) Lucas of Graham, NC; countless nieces, nephews, and cousins; and a multitude of friends who will all miss him.
A celebration of life will be held after cremation on April 29, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Avenue United Methodist Church, 20 Church Street, Milford, DE. Refreshments to be held at 12:00 following the service.
Donations in Bob’s name can be made to your local house of worship, local fire department or local animal shelter… Or go buy your friend a drink at the local bar.