Biography: Chris McNair was the father of Denise McNair, who was killed in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. in 1963. McNair was born in Fordyce, Arkansas and served in the United States Army during World War II. He received his degree in agronomy from Tuskegee University in 1949. McNair was the owner of a photography business in Birmingham, Alabama. He served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1973 to 1981 and was a Democrat. McNair then served on the Jefferson County Commission from 1986 until 2001.