Koln Gunn McKay (February 23, 1925 – October 6, 2000) was an American politician who represented the state of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. He served from January 3, 1971 to January 3, 1981, beginning in the ninety-second

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

and in four succeeding congresses.

Biography

McKay was born in Ogden,

Weber County, Utah Weber County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,223, making it Utah's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Ogden, the home of Weber State University. The county ...

. He was raised as a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). His brother

Monroe G. McKay Monroe Gunn McKay (May 30, 1928 – March 28, 2020) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Early life and education McKay was born in Huntsville, Utah in 1928. McKay served in the United St ...

would become a judge of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1977, and he was a cousin of

David O. McKay David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...

, the LDS Church president from 1951 to 1970. McKay served in the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was later an

LDS missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and communi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Afterward, he worked as a farmer, businessman and high school history teacher. Having attended the Weber County public schools, McKay studied at

Weber State College Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

in Ogden and

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...

, graduating in education in 1962. McKay married Donna Biesinger in 1950 and they had ten children.

Politics

McKay began his political career in the Utah House of Representatives in 1962, completing two terms. He served on prominent house committees including the legislative council, Utah Long Range Goals and Planning Committee, and the Utah Government Reorganization Committee. McKay was appointed as administrative assistant to Utah Governor

Cal Rampton Calvin Lewellyn "Cal" Rampton (November 6, 1913September 16, 2007) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 11th governor of the state of Utah from 1965 to 1977. Early life and education He was born to Llewellyn Smith Rampt ...

, a fellow Democrat, between 1967 and 1970. Utahns in the state's 1st District elected McKay as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Ninety-second Congress in 1971, and he served in four succeeding Congresses. During his political career, McKay was a strong advocate of government development in Utah. As chairman of the Military Construction Subcommittee, McKay reopened Utah’s Minuteman Missile production line, secured the F-16 fighter mission for

Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent to ...

, Utah, and appropriated funding to increase security at Tooele, Utah’s nerve gas storage facility. McKay also worked to ensure protection for Utah’s natural resources, securing funding that further developed Capitol Reef National Park, Glen Canyon, Arches, and Zion National Parks. He also drafted legislation on Utah’s Lone Peak Wilderness Area and on the Clean Air Act. However, as the Republican party made significant advances in western politics during the Ronald Reagan landslide, McKay lost in his bid for a 6th term to Republican

James V. Hansen James Vear Hansen (August 14, 1932 – November 14, 2018) was an American Republican politician from Utah, who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 2003. Early life and education Hansen was born in Salt Lake C ...

in 1980. He ran twice to reclaim is seat in 1986 and 1988 but was defeated both times.

Church service

An active leader in the LDS Church, McKay served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Ogden

Stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

, between 1967 and 1970. He also served as

of the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Mission of the LDS Church between 1981 and 1984. He and his wife later served a two-year mission to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and another two-year mission to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. While in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

on yet another mission, McKay returned home early due to illness.

Death

McKay died in

Huntsville, Utah Huntsville is a town in Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 608 at the 2010 census. It is located in Ogden Valley. It is part of the Ogden– Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Ogden Valley ce ...

at the age of 75, from complications of

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...

Notes

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