W. L. Donald McKay

1925 - 2015

W. L. Donald McKay (1925-2015). Long-time Marbleheader W. L. Donald McKay passed away in Florida on July 11, 2015 at the age of 90. Born at Salem Hospital on July 4, 1925, William Lawson Donald McKay was the third of the ten children of J. Donald McKay and his wife Agatha M. (Foster) McKay, natives of Nova Scotia. The family moved from Salem to Marblehead when he was five. He was educated in the Marblehead public schools, graduating from Marblehead High in 1942. He was widely known by his nickname, Dutchie, and entered the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII, in which he served as an airplane mechanic based primarily in Panama. After the war, he returned to Marblehead and worked as a mechanical engineer for United Shoe in Beverly. In 1947 he married Lucy M. Rousseau of Salem. They went on to have three sons, John D. II, William A., and Richard L. In the 1950s Mr. McKay operated a gas station and garage at the corner of Pleasant and Vine Streets for several years and then pursued a long career as a plumber for the Marblehead firm of Bartlett & Steadman. He was an active member of the Elks Lodge in Marblehead and of the Marblehead Yacht Club, of which he was a former commodore and the oldest life member. He liked nothing better than to be out on the water with friends, and was always ready to give assistance to anyone who asked for it. In 1992 Don and his wife Lucy, a medical secretary, retired to Sebastian, Florida, spending their summers in Marblehead. Lucy predeceased Donald in July, 2007. He leaves his three sons, John and his wife Mary Anne of Coral Springs, FL, William and his wife Kathleen of Sebastian, FL, Richard and his wife Deborah of Marblehead, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren as well as six siblings, Mrs. Joyce Booth of Marblehead, John F. W. McKay of Marblehead, Estelle McKay of Barefoot Bay, FL, Marilyn Ploss of New Boston, NH, Alden McKay of Miami, FL and Julie Harrington of Australia. He was predeceased by his sisters Jean Dodge, Dorothy Graves and Louise McKay. As per their wishes, Don and Lucy's ashes were scattered in the waters off Marblehead on August 23, 2015.