MacInnis, John Angus

John Angus MacInnis was born 22 June 1886, on a farm in Mira, Cape Breton Island. The son of parents of Scottish descent, he attended local schools, before matriculating from the Presbyterian Department of the Montreal Theological College in 1913. In the fall of the same year he entered Queen's University at Kingston. A little over two years later he interrupted his studies to volunteer for service with No. 7 (Queen's) Canadian General Hospital, serving in both Egypt and France.

Following his discharge, he returned to Queen's and received a B.A. at the Spring 1920, Convocation ceremonies. In 1921, he was ordained a minister in the church by the Kingston Presbytery and immediately thereafter was appointed to his first charge in the town of Port Alice, on Vancouver Island. The next year found him in Edmonton assisting the Rev. Dr. D. G. McQueen of the First Presbyterian Church. It was here too, that he met and later married, in June 1924, "the daughter of the manse," Marjorie McQueen. Soon thereafter, the Rev. MacInnis was on the move yet again; this time to the Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, in New York, from where he obtained his B.D. in 1923. He then returned to Canada and the parish of New Liskard, Ontario, where he remained for the next six years. In January 1929, he was called to the Orillia Presbyterian Church, which he was to serve with "tremendous vitality, conspicuous sagacity, personal persuasive power, ... and a deep faith" for the next thirty-three years.

The Rev. MacInnis did not however, feel compelled to minister to a congregation only. Rather, he felt called to serve the larger community as well. In this capacity, he was the co-founder of the Orillia branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses; he served with distinction on the Board of Education in Orillia; was president of the Lord's Day Alliance; moderator of the Synod of Toronto and Kingston in 1940; and vice-president of the Dominion Board of the Presbyterian Church. He was also active over the years in the Royal Canadian Legion, the Kiwanis Club, and the Masonic Order. In 1947, Knox College recognised his many and varied contributions when they awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity.

The Presbyterian Church in Canada also recognised his "statesmanship" and other talents in 1952, when it elected him Moderator of the 78th General Assembly. As such, it was the Rev. MacInnis and his wife who represented the Church at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth the following year. He retired from an active ministry in 1961, but continued to contribute to the Presbytery, the Assembly Board and a number of committees.

John Angus MacInnis died at his home in Orillia in his 78th year, on 6 March 1964. He is survived by three daughters: Catherine (Mrs. J.R.M. Pentland) of Windsor, Ontario; Jean McQueen (Mrs. A.H. Dancey) of Oshawa, Ontario; and Mary Elizabeth of Kingston, Ontario.