Memorial service for John McKay, 19 Memorial service for John McKay, 19 (August 10, 2005)

A memorial service for John D. McKay of Menlo Park, who died August 2 at age 19, will be held Saturday, August 13, at the Menlo Park Recreation Center, 701 Laurel St. in Menlo Park.

Born on January 31, 1986, he was a 2004 graduate of Menlo-Atherton High School and a student at Stanford University.

He was the son of David and Sheila McKay of Menlo Park. David McKay is a professor at Stanford.

John McKay was a founding member and served four years as president of the Menlo-Atherton Debate Team.

Doors at the Recreation Center will be open at 10:30 a.m. and the service will be held from 11 a.m. to noon. A reception will follow the service until 1 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to Voices (a scholarship organization for debaters), the Menlo-Atherton High School Debate Club, or the Coast Forensic League.

In 1999, the Almanac carried a feature story about a young John McKay, then 13 and an eighth-grader at Hillview Middle School, making an impressive pitch before the Menlo Park City Council, urging it to allow two-wheeled electric scooters on the road. To see the story, go to AlmanacNews.com, and enter "John McKay" in the "Search the Archive" box at the top of the page.

Thomas Marriscolo, the chief deputy San Mateo County coroner, said there would be no ruling on a cause of death for four to six weeks.

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