Jay B. McCaskill Jr.

He was born June 12, 1942 in Lamar, CO the son of Jay B. McCaskill, Sr. and Alice (Meyers) McCaskill

He was a 1960 graduate of Mt. Hope High School and attended one year at Southwestern College, Winfield, KS.

Jay married Marilyn McKee September 29th, 1962 at Trinity Methodist Church in Hutchinson. They had two sons from their union, Ronald Jay McCaskill in 1963 and Scott Alan McCaskill in 1968.

When Jay and Marilyn got married, he was employed buy Oklahoma Tire and Supply Company in Hutchinson, KS as a salesman then was transferred to Lawrence, KS where they lived for a year.

In 1964 he went to work for his father who owned Mt. Hope Earthmovers, a dirt contractor. When Jay B. Sr. retired in approx. 1977 Jay B. Jr. bought his father’s company. In December of 1980 he had back surgery at the age of 38 that left him paralyzed from the waist down and was told that he would never walk again. He had a very strong will and a lot of determination and didn’t accept his diagnosis. With his determination, physical therapy and help from Marilyn, he learned to walk again with limitations. He had to sell his business due to his disability and started a company that adjusted damage claims on farmers land as a result from oil and gas drilling. He later worked for Mt. Hope Trucking and eventually retired as a road grader operator for Sherman Township.

Jay had a knack for fixing things. There wasn’t really anything he couldn’t fix or at least try with a high level of success. He did a lot of wood working and built several pieces of furniture. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and community service. He was a former city council member, mayor, volunteer ambulance driver, volunteer fireman and fire chief all for the city of Mt. Hope. Jay was very instrumental in the founding of the Mt. Hope Nursing Center and Larson Apartments and was a past President of the Mt. Hope Nursing Center Board of Directors.

He was a Christian of the Methodist faith. He loved his family and always stood up for what he believed and made his voice heard.

Jay is survived by his wife Marilyn of 58 years, two sons Ronald Jay McCaskill, Mt. Hope and Scott Alan McCaskill (Penny), Louisburg, KS, two sisters, Nelda Dow, Mt. Hope and Nona Perriman (Bob) Cheyenne, OK, three brothers, Larry McCaskill (Cindy) Thornton, CO, Don McCaskill (Patti) Mt. Hope, Dwayne McCaskill (Lori) Burrton, KS, sister-in-law Patricia Fitzgerald, Independence, MO, three grand daughters Tracy Gorman (Adam), Abby Anderson (Mike), Blair Campbell (Jake), six grandsons, Gage, Jay, Josiah, Reid McCaskill, Brett and Jake Herbert, one great grand daughter Bristol Campbell and three great grandsons, Brody Campbell, Brody and Beckett Anderson.

He was preceded in death in by his parents, two sisters Barbera Harper and Loretta Lewis, father-in-law and mother-in-law Archie and Velma McKee, two brother-in-law’s Merwin Lewis and Edward Fitzgerald and three nieces Amy McCaskill, Kylie Christie and Kathy Fitzgerald.