Jack McKeon

1923 - 2017

Jack C. McKeon WAXHAW - Jack Chandler McKeon, 94, formerly of Charlotte, passed away at his home in Marvin on Saturday, September 9, 2017. Jack was born on May 13, 1923, in Washington, DC, to the late George Patrick McKeon and Constance Copeland (Maurice) McKeon. He grew up in Georgetown and as a boy enjoyed building model airplanes. From 1940-1942, he trained with the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory at Langley Field (VA) and built model airplanes for a wind tunnel operated by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. During World War II, he enlisted and served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-1945, stationed in Pensacola, FL. After the war, he enrolled in the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, OK, and earned his Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certification in 1946 from what is now the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A year later he obtained his private pilot's license. Eastern Air Lines (EAL) recruited him in 1947. Initially stationed in Washington, DC, he transferred within the year to EAL's new turnaround station in Charlotte, NC. During his 36-year career with EAL as a lead mechanic, he serviced a wide range of aircraft, from DC-3s to Boeing 727s. He retired in 1983. In addition to his job at EAL, and continuing into his retirement, he rebuilt single and twin-engine planes in Charlotte as a small business, McKeon Aircraft. He flew for enjoyment and to test his planes. He was known throughout the Southeast for his expert craftsmanship and skill. The FAA awarded him the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award on May 15, 2003, for his lifetime accomplishments in aviation maintenance. Jack is predeceased by his parents; his brother, William Copeland McKeon, of Marlboro, MD; and his wife of 69 years, Joan Ethel (Wenzel) McKeon, whom he married on August 28, 1943, in a chapel of Washington National Cathedral. He is survived by daughters, Kathryn Joan Mendenhall (Larry) of Falls Church, VA; Elizabeth Ann Price (Steve) of Charlotte, NC; Patricia Denise Lynch (Mike) of Olympia, WA; grandsons, Scott Mendenhall (Jenn and daughter Taylor), Byron Mendenhall (Alicia), Stephen Price, Eric Price, Brendan Lynch, Kieran Lynch; and nine first cousins. His family and friends will remember with admiration and fondness his sense of humor, devotion to family, perseverance and work ethic. He enjoyed starting and operating a small venture of neighborhood ice cream trucks in Charlotte in the 1960s (Frosty Ice Cream), and boating with family and friends at Lake Wylie, SC, in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, he became a member of Steele Creek Masonic Lodge 737, Scottish Rite and Oasis Shrine. After suffering a heart attack in 1983, with bypass surgery a year later, he began running as part of his cardiac rehabilitation program. In January 1987, he successfully completed the Charlotte Observer Marathon, and in June 1987, the Ramsey Creek Triathlon. Following a memorial service in Washington, DC, Jack's ashes will be interred with those of his wife at Forest Lawn East Cemetery in Matthews, NC. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Union County, NC, or to the Hurricane Harvey or Irma relief fund or charity of your choice.