John Victor “Jack” McKain worked long hours at his grocery store before becoming a decorated car salesperson and was a role model for his five children.

Well-known for his affection for classic Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars, racing and air shows, he died Sunday, June 22, at the age of 93 ending what family and friends said was life worth living.

McKean opened his first grocery store in Butler when he was 16, but was best known for Jack McKain’s Market on Mercer Street, which he ran until 1985.

He then worked at Butler County Motor Company, which went on to become Butler County Ford and is now #1 Cochran Ford, until 1999, earning several sales awards from Ford Motor Company.

“Everything with papa Jack was about cars, racing and going fast,” said his grandson, Sean McKain, who manages the truck shop at #1 Cochran Ford. He said his grandfather’s passion for cars is was led him to work in the auto industry.

“The whole family is into motorsports,” Sean McKain said.

One of things he said he will miss most about Jack is talking with him about racing at Lernerville Speedway, NASCAR races and his Mopar muscle cars.

He said Jack loved all of his classic Mopars, but a 1970 Cuda with a 340-cubic-inch V-8 and a shaker hood might have been his favorite.

“When I got older, he’d let me take any one of them out. He didn't’ mind if I took any of them out just to drive and enjoy,” Sean McKain said.

Family was just as important.

Every Saturday, Jack used to bring his grandchildren doughnuts from the former Stanley's Donut & Pastry Shop, which was located at the corner of Mercer and New Castle streets, where Tani’s Pizza is now.

The family used to gather for holiday dinners at “papa Jack” and grandma’s house, Sean McKain said. His grandmother, Mary Jane “Janie” McKain, was the first woman elected to city council and as the county’s register of wills and recorder of deeds and went on to be appointed as the clerk of courts.

Sean said many people will miss Jack and doubts the parking lot at the Martin Funeral Home in Butler is big enough to accommodate everybody he believes will come to pay their respects at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at his funeral service.

“He had a great life. It was a life worth celebrating,” Sean said.

Sean’s father Jon, known as “J,” the oldest of Jack’s five children, said he worked long days with his father at the grocery store, and they went to many races and air shows together.

“When I was growing up, my granddad McKain was like a father and my dad was more like an older brother,” J McKain said. “We were always playing with cars and going to races and airshows.”

J McKain said the family lived in an apartment above the Mercer Street grocery, where youths from the neighborhood would buy Pepsi and candy and hang out.

“He worked hard (at) the store. Sixty hours a week was nothing … We all worked there, including my mom. He put all five of us through school,” said J McKain, who worked in the advertising department at the Butler Eagle for 30 years.

Jack allowed customers to buy groceries on credit. He wrote their names and how much they owed on paper.

“It always amazed me. People would always come and pay,” J McKain said.

He said his father would cash checks for people and go all out to help customers.

One act of kindness stands out.

A young, newlywed woman came to the store one day and asked Jack if he had a prepared turkey in the deli to replace the one she was going to serve to her in-laws for her first Thanksgiving dinner before she burned it.

J said Jack went upstairs and took the turkey his mother cooked for their Thanksgiving dinner and gave it to the young wife.

“I don’t even remember him charging her for that turkey,” he said.

She returned with the pan and asked Jack if she could buy a turkey for Christmas dinner because her in-laws liked the turkey so much they wanted to come back, he added.

“He was great role model for myself and my siblings,” J McKain said.

Jack’s appreciation of Mopars spread to his children.

His son Jeff McKain, who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, has a pink, black and white 1955 Dodge sedan. That car and Jeff McKain appear in the movie “Alto Nights” featuring Robert De Niro.

“He made a good looking gangster,” J McKain said.

J’s daughter has a 1973 Cuda that appeared in the move “Riddle” starring the late Val Kilmer. The car is yellow with a black top and stripes and has a lot of screen time, he said.

It’s his dad’s love and sense of humor that he said will miss the most.

“Right up to the end he was cracking jokes and making sly comments,” J McKain said.

Cathy Glasgow, who owned Butler County Ford, and her husband, Denny, said Jack was a hard working salesperson and well known in Butler

“He was a lovely man. He was a hard worker and knew everybody in town. He had a wonderful life,” Cathy Glasgow said.

“Everybody in the world loved Jack McKain. He was an incredible gentleman,” Denny Glasgow said. “He lived an incredible life.”

Jack and his daughter, Judy Connelly, let former Butler Eagle reporter Linda Schmitmeyer, of Saxonburg, spend a lot of time with their family in early 2000 for an in-depth series of stories on hospice care.

Janie McKain received hospice care at home as she suffered from cancer, which claimed her life in March 21, 2000.

“Jack and Judy agreed along with their family members to let me cover the process of this to highlight hospice care,” Schmitmeyer said. “It was very kind of Jack and his family to share that intimate family experience with others.”

She said the family showed courage and strength by opening up their lives to help others understand hospice care, which wasn’t as well known as it is now.