James Daniel McKay

October 13, 1957 - January 11, 2022

James Daniel McKay, known by most as Jim, and by a lucky few as Dad or Papaw, passed away January 11, 2022, at CAMC Memorial Hospital. He was born on October 13, 1957 in Charleston, WV to the late Rev. Clifford and Pauline McKay. He is also preceded in death by his brother, Joe McKay. He will be deeply missed by his loving wife of 23 years, Lydia; his children, Jamie (Josh) Garnes of Cross Lanes; and JC at home; as well as grandchildren Ryleigh and Clifton Garnes. He is also survived by his siblings, John (Annette) of Charleston, Joyce (Steve) Cook of Nitro, and sister-in-law Cheri McKay of Hurricane, as well as several nieces and nephews. Jim was a member of Teays Valley Baptist Church. He spent many years serving, while able, as a Sunday School teacher and AWANA leader. He enjoyed sharing with others about Jesus and what Jesus had done in his own life. Jim was hard to love. He was stubborn as a mule, was always right, had an opinion about nearly everything, and enjoyed a good argument. He was always reading and learning. He was never afraid to stand up in the face of adversity for what he believed to be right and true. He always did the “right thing” even if he did it alone. While being all these things, he was also sweet, sensitive, and caring, if he allowed you to see that side. He was the one to go to with good news and the one to give sage advice when things were not going so well. Jim loved sports. He would watch them on TV, listen over the radio, and even listen to broadcast shows of others talking about sports. You could always find him in the stands when one of his kids were playing a game, as he was always their number one fan. He was a former referee and umpire with the WVSSAC. He also was a former Nitro High School Volleyball Coach. Jim had the capability of bringing big energy, charisma, and a strong work ethic into everything he did. This allowed him to have quite the career path including 16 years at Broughton Foods and a wide array of jobs in business, sales, and management. He attributed his success to his willingness to work harder than everyone else and felt it necessary to instill that same drive into his children. He believed that regardless of your job title, you should take pride in your work and always be the best version of yourself. His most difficult yet most rewarding job, was being dad and papaw. He loved hard, held high expectations, and wanted nothing but the best for the ones he loved most. While being unable to work the last several years, he continued making an impact but in a different capacity. He previously served his local community as Councilman at Large of the City of Nitro, as well as former Civil Service Board Member for both the Nitro Fire and Police Departments. He enjoyed being able to make an impact, although he felt it small, and greatly respected those who he represented. Funeral service for Jim will be 1:00pm Saturday, January 15, 2022 at Teays Valley Missionary Baptist Church, Hurricane WV with Rev. Dr. John D. Smith officiating. Burial will follow in Cunningham Memorial Park, St. Albans, WV. Friends may visit the family on Saturday from 11:00am until 1:00pm at the church. The family suggests memorial donations to the Teays Valley Missionary Baptist Church, Building Fund, 3926 Teays Valley Road Hurricane WV 25526. Anyone wishing to leave an online condolence or memory may visit his tribute page, www.chapmanfuneralhomes.com Chapman Funeral Home, 3941 Teays Valley Road Hurricane WV is honored to handle Jim’s arrangements.