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Former U.S. Rep. McKinley remembered for love of W.Va., love for family

Hundreds attended the funeral Monday of former U.S. Rep. David B. McKinley, held at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Wheeling. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

WHEELING – Family members, friends and constituents gathered in Wheeling Monday to pay their respects former Congressman David B. McKinley, who was remembered not only for his decades of service to the community, but also for his love to his family and to his home state of West Virginia.

Hundreds gathered at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church for McKinley’s memorial service. McKinley died on April 17 at the age of 79.

Known as one of the most bipartisan legislators during his time in Washington, McKinley earned the respect of people on both sides of the political aisle, and people from all walks of life came to the service remember his life and legacy.

His son, David H. McKinley, and eldest grandson, Jackson Boyle, delivered heartfelt eulogies.

“Although we’ve always had so much respect for his work as Congressman McKinley, we simply loved and knew him as Papa,” said Boyle, speaking on behalf of McKinley’s six grandchildren.

Boyle said his grandfather was an excellent listener who found a way to connect with everyone on an individual level – from family members to his constituents to his fellow legislators. All of his grandchildren had a unique and special connection to him, including his grandson, Maxwell, who has been challenged with special needs.

“Papa also showed up as a strong champion of people with disabilities in Congress, no doubt inspired by his grandson,” he said.

The family got to see the lighthearted side of him, Boyle said.

“His laughter filled the room,” he noted. “His energy was contagious.

“Papa was an incredible public servant with an amazing legacy, but he was so much more than that. Papa was someone who loved West Virginia, who loved his family and who deeply loved each of us.”

David H. McKinley said his father, despite his high-profile work in Washington and his world travels, always reminded them that he was “just an engineer from Wheeling.”

“He meant it, and that’s what made him effective,” David H. McKinley said.

His son said his profession made him an analytic problem solver by nature. That’s how he built his business and how he raised his children, he noted.

“For an engineer who spent his career building things in West Virginia, he was restless to make sure his children understood the scale of what was possible,” David H. McKinley said. “He showed up. He listened.”

The seventh generation West Virginian yearned to better understand the people around him – whether it was his family or his constituents, his son said.

Early in his career in the 1980s, he was a Republican before the GOP had a huge majority, the younger McKinley noted.

“He believed what he believed before it was popular, and he fought for it,” he said. “And for anyone who needs to be reminded — building anything worthwhile requires courage, sacrifice and time.”

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