Kevin McLaughlin was 19 when he was first diagnosed with a severe form of diabetes and told he'd be unable to work for the rest of his life.

"But the doctors never realized that they were advising a tough Irishman who never let any kind of a problem stop him from doing what he felt he had to do," said his wife, Katherine McLaughlin, whom he married in 1984.

Kevin James McLaughlin of McKeesport died from complications of diabetes on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, at his home. He was 55.

"I never had any doubt when we first met in 1982 that he could do anything he set out to do," his wife added.

In the years after the diagnosis, Mr. McLaughlin was employed by Beraducci Tool and Die in McKeesport and then by Mesta Machine Co. in West Homestead.

"As Kevin's illness progressed, he worked at less strenuous jobs, such as clerking at the H&H Fish Co. on Sixth Street in McKeesport, where his customers enjoyed having him wait on them.

"And prior to his retirement several years ago, he was employed in maintenance for the McKeesport Area School District," she added.

As far as Mr. McLaughlin was concerned, no one was ever a stranger.

"I can remember when he picked up the phone at home, and it was a wrong number," she said. "That didn't stop Kevin, he stayed on the phone for over an hour and soon after, the caller, who had a woodworking shop, sent him photos of some of the things that he built."

Mr. McLaughlin created what he called a Lantern Bar on the back porch of their home, where anybody could drop in and have a beer and a snack and strike up a conversation, his wife said.

Born and raised in McKeesport, Kevin McLaughlin was one of five children in the family of Charles E. and Ann Stinson McLaughlin.

Mr. McLaughlin graduated from McKeesport High School in 1972 and studied auto mechanics at Rosedale Technical Institute in Pittsburgh.

In addition to his wife, Katherine Dalton McLaughlin, he is survived by his daughters, Jennifer L. Gallagher of North Versailles and Annalisa M. McLaughlin of McKeesport; and sons, Kevin J. McLaughlin Jr. and Justin McLaughlin, both of Herminie.

Mr. McLaughlin is also survived by brothers, Frank of Greenock, Chuck of Florida and Patrick of Port Vue; a sister, Charlene Steel of McKeesport, and three grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Jacob Vincent Lester Walker.

Friends will be received from noon to 3 and 5 to 8 p.m. today in the William H. Craig Funeral Home, 3000 Versailles Ave., McKeesport.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be said at 11 a.m. Monday in St. Pius Roman Catholic Church, McKeesport, with the Rev. Stephen Kresak officiating.

Interment will follow in the New St. Joseph Cemetery, North Versailles.

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News