on january 20, 1917, mccutcheon married evelyn shaw, the daughter of his friend howard van doren shaw, despite being twenty-four years older than her. the mccutcheons were the parents of three sons, john jr., howard shaw, and barr. a daughter, evelyn, died in childhood. shaw mccutcheon became an editorial cartoonist and worked for "the spokesman-review" in spokane, washington, for thirty-six years.