William Francis (Mickey) McShane Jr., age 100, passed away peacefully after eating a good breakfast on April 2, 2024, in Hampton, Virginia. Mickey was born in February 1924 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky to Myrtle and William Francis McShane, Sr.
His family’s legacy in plumbing craftsmanship began with his grandfather and father, both master plumbers in Kentucky. The family relocated to Glasgow, Kentucky in 1928, where William Sr. played a role in developing Glasgow’s infrastructure, including projects for what later became Liberty Street School and TJ Samson Community Hospital. In 1930, his father established McShane Plumbing
at the start of the Great Depression.
After graduating from Glasgow High School in 1941 at age 17, Mickey entered the University of Kentucky (UK) to study Mechanical Engineering. He was actively involved in the Triangle Fraternity and played trumpet in the University of Kentucky Marching Band.
The US declared war in December 1941 and only men 19 and older were being drafted. When Mickey became 19 in February 1943, he quit UK and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He underwent basic training as a combat engineer then continued training on the relatively new radar technology and electronics for repairing and servicing radios on planes including gliders that were used on D-Day. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
Mickey resumed his studies upon returning to Lexington, Kentucky and graduated in 1949. During this time, he met Mary Lou Keyser, a fellow University of Kentucky student from Beckley, West Virginia who was also from a plumbing family. The pair first met on Maxwell Street, residing as neighbors in their fraternity and sorority houses. Following the couple’s first date, Mickey said, “I knew I was in love!” and in January 1949, the two exchanged vows and began their life together in Glasgow, Kentucky. It was a marriage made in plumbing heaven. Mickey and Mary Lou built a home in Glasgow in 1951 where they raised three children together
and he lived until 2022. Mickey followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming the owner of McShane Plumbing and Heating, and serving as President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
He was preceded in death by his wife of nearly sixty-three years, Mary Lou and their daughter, Mary McShane.
Mickey is survived by Tom (Yvonne DeJean) of St. Paul, MN; Michael “Huggs” (Naoko Inada) of Norfolk, VA; and Melanie Carson (Todd Hamilton) of Murray, KY. He is also survived by grandsons Mark Harrer (Brittany Ward), Seiji McShane, and granddaughters Natalie
Carson, Maggie McShane Rice (Brenton Rice), Anne McShane (Celine Bornbach), and one great-grandson, Will Harrer.
Mickey was an avid reader and fan of University of Kentucky sports and a lifelong member of St. Helen Catholic Church.
He will be buried next to Mary Lou and his parents in the family plot during the summer at the Glasgow Municipal Cemetery followed by a gathering of family and friends to honor his memory.
