Original text - Engels - The Biography of Kip McKean - Part 2 A

Early Life And Family


Both of Kip’s parents – Tom & Kim – celebrate their 80th Birthdays in the summer of 2008!
“Kip” McKean was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 31, 1954. Like many young men of the 1960’s, he was inspired by those who refused to compromise and were willing to sacrifice everything for a worthy cause. This temperament is also deep in the McKean family heritage, as they are called higher by the courage of one of their ancestors, Thomas McKean. As with all of “the Signers,” death threats were common. Interestingly, Thomas McKean not only signed the Declaration of Independence for Delaware, but also was “the President” of the Congress of Confederation – the highest office in the new United States of America – when news arrived from General Washington that the British had surrendered.

Kip’s father, serving as an admiral in the U.S. Navy, became a strong influence and an early role model for leadership and excellence. His mother, an artist, nurtured in him warmth in relationships and a character of resilience. Between the ages of seven and 16, every summer Kip alongside his beloved younger brother Randy and dear younger sister Dana spent one month with each set of grandparents – “Grampy and Grammy” and “Grandpa and Grandma.” Those days with his grandparents in Michigan and Indiana respectively heightened his sense of adventure and deepened his love and appreciation of family.

During his high school years – in Virginia Beach, Virginia; Winter Park, Florida; and Libertyville, Illinois – Kip was active in athletics, was selected to be a member of the National Honor Society, and also obtained the rank of Eagle in the Boy Scouts. During these formative years, Kip’s heroes became John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In time, Kip’s greatest hero became Jesus.