More detail on this person: Lt. Colonel
Lawrence Edward McKay, Jr., US Army, Retired
CHARLESTON - Charleston lost one of her truly fine
gentlemen on Thursday, August 8, 2013, when
Lawrence Edward McKay, Jr. went to be with his
Heavenly Father. The relatives and friends of
Lawrence McKay, Jr. are invited to attend his Mass
of Christian Burial on Monday, August 12, 2013 in
Christ Our King Catholic Church, 1149 Russell
Drive at 10:00 am. Prayers of Final Commendation
and Farewell will follow in Mount Pleasant
Memorial Gardens with military honors. The family
will receive friends on Sunday, August 11, 2013 in
J. HENRY STUHR, INC., MOUNT PLEASANT
CHAPEL from 6:00 until 8:00 pm. The rosary will be
recited at 6:00 pm. Larry was born in Charleston,
South Carolina on August 26, 1936, son of Beatrice
Stroman McKay and the late Lawrence Edward
McKay, Sr. He grew up playing on the Moultrie
playground, was one of Mr. Matty Matthews Golden
Glove Champions and graduated from Bishop
England High School. At the Citadel, he was
elected President of the Class of 1958 and
received the prestigious Willson Ring. After
graduating from The Citadel, McKay dedicated his
efforts to proudly serving his county, country,
community, and family as a citizen-soldier, the
hallmark of every Citadel graduate. He earned a
Masters Degree from Duke University en route to a
teaching assignment in the Department of Social
Sciences, USMA, West Point. He spent twenty
years on active duty including tours in Vietnam as
Aviation Officer 5th Special Forces Group
(Airborne) and later as Commanding Officer, F.
Battery, 79th Aerial Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade,
lst Cavalry Division. His "Blue Max" Cobra attack
helicopter unit was selected as the Army Aviation
Association of America unit of the year for tank
kills at the Battle of An Loc, Easter, 1972. At
the Battle of An Loc, Larry McKay and his
co-pilot, Barry McIntyre, became the first
helicopter pilots in history to destroy an enemy
tank. McKay's military decorations include the
Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and the
Bronze Star. McKay returned home to Charleston in
1978 to become the Headmaster at East Cooper
School. He served as a Vice President and Officer
at the Seabrook Island Company and at Wild Dunes
Associates. He was the founding President of the
Wild Dunes Telecommunications Company, the first
shared-tenant telephone company in South
Carolina. He currently served on the Boards of
three businesses, and is a founding partner in
Horizon Capital Group, LLC. General James
Alexander Grimsley, Jr. selected McKay to be the
Director of Student Activities at The Citadel
where he taught as an Adjunct Professor in the
Business Department. Back at The Citadel, his
multiple duties included: producing The Citadel
Sesquicentennial Tattoo, volunteer fundraiser for
The Citadel Band, Pipes and Drums trip to
participate in the Edinburgh Tattoo, faculty
advisor for cadet trip to former Soviet Union
Naval Academy at Sevastopol, Crimea during the
transition of naval forces to Russia and Ukraine,
and faculty advisor for a Business School cadet
trip to Wall Street and corporate America in 2005.
McKay's community support includes service on
the Trident United Way Board, Junior Achievement
Board, Youth Services Charleston Board, Christ Our
King Parish Council, Chairman of Golf Committees
for the Kidney Foundation, Rice Planters, and The
USGA Senior Amateur at Wild Dunes. He was the
President of the East Cooper Meals on Wheels
Board. Colonel McKay is survived by his mother,
Beatrice S. McKay; his wife of 54 years, Fay
Chapman McKay; four children, Lanny McKay and
his wife, Lisa Hodgdon, Tricy McKay Cushner and
her husband, Michael, Chappy McKay and his wife,
Sarah Ellis, and Bitsy McKay Moores and her
husband, Duane; nine grandchildren, Rylee McKay,
Aidan McKay, Cameron Cushner, Wade Cushner,
Caroline Cushner, Ellis McKay, Maggie McKay,
Trevor Moores and Clayton Moores. He was
preceded in death by his father, Lawrence Edward
McKay and his brother, Fred McKay. In lieu of
flowers, memorial contributions may be made to
The Charleston Catholic School, 888-A King Street,
Charleston, SC 29403 or
www.charlestoncatholic.com. A memorial message
may be sent to the family by visiting our website
at www.jhenrystuhr.com. Visit our guestbook at
www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston
Published in Charleston Post & Courier on August
10, 2013
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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