WHEELING — Arthur “Art” McKenzie was a Marine who went on to be a police chief, state lawmaker, warden, sheriff, county commissioner and mayor — and live almost 100 years.

McKenzie passed away Saturday at the age of 94.

He enlisted as a Marine at age 16 and served in Pearl Harbor. After the military, he was a truck driver who later went into law enforcement. This led him to become both Wheeling police chief and Ohio County sheriff, as well as warden at the West Virginia State Penitentiary.

Along the way he also served in the West Virginia House of Delegates before being later elected Ohio County commissioner and mayor of Bethlehem.

McKenzie was one of 13 children, and he and his brother John married twin sisters. Art McKenzie’s wife Velma, 99, survives him.

Among McKenzie’s many nephews is former West Virginia senator and former Wheeling mayor Andy McKenzie.

“Art is one of the people I give credit to getting me into politics,” Andy McKenzie said.

He recounts that when he was 14, Art McKenzie took him to see U.S. Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia, at a stop in Wheeling. Gingrich would go on to become Speaker of the House.

“It was my first time hearing a national politician speak,” Andy McKenzie said. “It later became one of the reasons I decided to get into public service.

“It gave me the ability to see what it was like to be in public service, and ultimately become a state senator and mayor.”

He also remembers as a youngster going with his father Ron to visit his uncle when he was warden at the West Virginia Penitentiary.

“When we went to the warden’s office we had to pass through the rest of the prison, and I saw the environment. It had an influence on me just being there,” Andy Mckenzie said.

Many in the McKenzie family went on to careers either in law enforcement or as firefighters, and Andy McKenzie attributes Art McKenzie’s influence to their vocations.

“When I was in the Senate, there almost was not a week that Art wasn’t calling asking me for something for Bethlehem or Ohio County,” he continued. “He was constantly trying to find out how to get the state to invest in Ohio County or Bethlehem.

“He was not a part-time commissioner or mayor of Bethlehem. This is few and far between when you look at people who hold these positions.”

Art McKenzie’s only son Ray is a retired Wheeling firefighter. He also remembered visiting his father where he worked — whether it was at the police station or at the warden’s office.

“I remember meeting some of the inmates, and some of the trustees,” Ray McKenzie said. “Living at the warden’s residence was quite an experience.”

He also remembered that his father drove a tractor trailer before becoming a police officer.

On one trip, Art McKenzie was carrying explosives in his truck when he came face to face with a small plane attempting to land on the highway. The plane took off the top of his trailer, but nothing exploded, recounts Ray McKenzie.

“It happened on April Fools Day,” he said.

Ray McKenzie remembers his father as “being honest, upstanding and telling the truth, and having good work ethics.”

“He was a good guy, and a good father who took me to sporting events and all the good stuff a dad does,” he said. “He liked golf and bowling, and he always had time for us.

“He did a lot of good things and accomplished what he set out to do.”

Art McKenzie also wrote a book of memoirs he titled “All Facts, No Fiction,” Ray McKenzie said.

Retired Ohio County Deputy Harry Croft said he knew McKenzie “for quite a while.”

“We sometimes had our differences, but we did the job and that was the main thing,” Croft said.

He said he felt complimented by McKenzie when he called him out to handle a bad situation.

“He complimented me when he didn’t realize,” Croft said. “If things got really bad, they called me out. He appreciated what I did, and I appreciated him for calling me.”

Former Bethlehem recorder and mayor Don Junkins remembers serving alongside McKenzie when he was mayor between July 1999 and July 2005.

“He had a lot of experience in municipal operations,” Junkins said. “He got around, knew people, and what buttons to press. He was always on the loose.”

Junkins said there were times when they didn’t agree, “but that’s why you take a vote ‘yes’ or ‘no.'”

“In the final analysis, he did do good things to improve conditions in the village,” Junkins added.