Jeffersontown Veteran Reflects on 100 Years of Faith, Family & Service
Veteran and Jeffersontown resident Jesse McGee recently celebrated his 100th birthday.
Born Sept. 19, 1925, in a small Kentucky town, one of his first memories was Christmas Day in 1931. McGee had appendicitis, and after calling the doctor, who recommended a trip to the hospital in Louisville, the trip itself proved difficult because no one had a car. The family had to ask neighbors and friends and eventually find someone in town who could transport the ailing 6-year-old.
“These were horse-and-buggy days,” McGee says. “We had no electricity or running water. We’d get water from the well, but it would go dry every summer.”
Growing up, McGee recalls summers spent working on the farm, hunting, fishing and playing baseball. He has plenty of stories surrounding family, getting into trouble with his siblings and having fun.
He remembers the 5-mile walk to and from school and the family purchasing their first car around 1938.
The 1940s served as a decade of change in McGee’s life.
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941 when McGee was a sophomore in high school. By 1944, he was headed to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for basic training at just 18 years old and spent his 19th birthday on a three-day pass to London.
“In the early part of my service, I was at a camp in southern England near the English Channel and then on to France, Holland and Germany,” McGee says. “I was in harm’s way a few times but never saw combat. Still, when I earned enough points to come home and you see the Statue of Liberty, it really does something to you.”
While overseas, McGee had been writing letters to Edwina, a friend from his high school days. The special relationship they built through letters led to love, and the two married in 1947.
He recalls living in an apartment in Bardstown for $40 per month and making 74 cents per hour. Just one year later, he took a job at Robertson Paint Co., later named Porter Paint and then PPG Paints, for 90 cents per hour.
Like many in the 1940s, McGee worked hard and worked his way up, spending nearly 40 years with the company and eventually becoming superintendent at the industrial finishes plant.
“I started out as a laborer and worked a lot of long hours but took classes in the evening at the University of Louisville and received promotions as I went along,” McGee says.
The couple moved to Jeffersontown in 1948, and McGee began volunteering at his church, Jeffersontown Christian Church, and joined the Masonic Lodge. He was instrumental in the launch of Jeffersontown Little League and served as a coach for several years. In addition, McGee served on the Jeffersontown City Council in the early 1950s.
“When Edwina and I moved here, Jeffersontown was just a small town,” McGee says. “I don’t know if there was even a traffic light. Growth was just beginning to take effect, and I was able to be a part of some of that growth when subdivisions were coming in and changes were taking place.”
He served only one term, however. Work and family life were calling.
The couple had four children — Dennis, Walter, JoAnn and Rob — and advances in technology were moving quicker than many could keep up.
McGee recalls buying his first television in 1949, purchasing a microwave, an 8-track and more.
“Some of the best memories of our family life were when the children were all home and in school,” he says. “I used to call Edwina and let her know I was on my way home from work. Our dog, Pepper, got the message and would wait at the door for me, announcing my arrival when I turned the corner. The kids would all be called in to have dinner, and we’d sit around the table, and I would listen to each of them talk about their day. They would eventually ask me to guess what we were having for dessert. I’d usually guess right, and they accused Mom of telling me beforehand. She never did. She just had good mental telepathy, I guess.”
After 53 years of marriage and a long illness, Edwina passed away in July 2000.
McGee says he knew then what it was like to be lonely. However, life didn’t stop there.
In 2002, he met Evelyn and eventually her children. They were married for 14 years before she passed away in 2016.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have had two of the best. Now I have two angels in heaven,” McGee says. “I’m so glad we had time together with all the memories and two great families. My stepchildren are just like my own children. They treat me just like their father. I believe when Edwina went to be with the Lord, she asked that He send someone to me so I wouldn’t be lonely.”
McGee says there are four things in life that really matter: God, country, neighbors and family.
He has read the Bible from cover to cover at least three times, and these days, McGee still resides in the home that he and Evelyn purchased in Jeffersontown. His children visit often and say he spent so long taking care of them, now it is their turn to take care of him.
The secret to celebrating a 100th birthday?
“I guess just living a clean life,” McGee says. “I’ve been blessed in so many ways. The Lord has helped me through some sad times, and there are things I wish I had not done and things I wish I had done or said that I didn’t. Don’t wait until it’s too late.”
