WHEELING, W.Va. — The full life of former West Virginia First District Congressman David McKinley was remembered in funeral services Monday at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wheeling.
McKinley died on April 17 at his Wheeling home. He was 79.
McKinley is survived by his wife, four children and six grandchildren.
HIs son, David H. McKinley, said his father was a true public servant whether he was operating his successful engineering business, serving in the House of Delegates, being the chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party or spending a dozen years in Congress from 2011 to 2023.
“He fought for coal miners’ pensions, infrastructure, for the kind of practical legislation that change lives,” David H. McKinley told those gathered for Monday’s funeral. “When he went to Congress he carried personal convictions with him like how to preserve our history and how to more cost effectively redevelop our historic downtowns.”
His son also remembered time around the dinner table growing up in Wheeling.
“Every night our family sat down together and not to be lectured, because we were each expected to contribute, whether it was current events, ideas, things that mattered. He wanted to know what we thought,” David H. McKinley said.
Grandson Jackson Boyle said his grandfather, though very busy, took the time to know each of his six grandchildren in a personal way.
“I think that anyone who knows all six of us knows we have very different personalities and interests but Papa found a way to connect with us all on an individual level,” Boyle said.
St. Matthew’s Rector Joshua Saxe offered comforting words to those on hand.
“We do not gather to resolve a life or to reduce it to a single narrative, rather we gather to do what the church has always done, to place that life fully, honestly, with all its seasons, to the care of the one who knows us completely and that’s Jesus.” Saxe said.