Lodge St. Kilda ~ Obituaries
W. Bro. Jim MacKinnon
He went through the chair of his mother lodge in 1958. He became an eminent freemason, advancing to many of the different Orders, including Royal Arch Chapter, Mark Lodge, Knights Templar, Knights Templar Priest, Royal Order of Scotland, the Cryptic Council, the Ark Mariner, Rosicrucian Society, Knights of Constantine, the 18th and 30th degrees. He progressed through many of the chairs of these fine Orders. He was appointed as Provincial Grand Junior Warden in the province of Yorkshire. Masonry was his major hobby and was in his heart.

However, family always came first, a philosophy which he made a point of carrying through. Other hobbies included philately and gardening, the latter, the result of which can easily be seen at his home in Uig. He spent a lot of time caring for his mother in her later years and who passed away in the early 1960s. In 1969 he was invited to become a Justice of the Peace in Leeds, a position eligible only to people of extremely good standing within the community. Thus, throughout the years, he enjoyed a prominent position in society and was very caring towards others.
In 1980, at the age of 64yrs, he decided to retire and return to Skye, his ancestral home. He soon became aware of the lack of dentistry facilities on the island and especially the poor state of its children's teeth. Again in his caring capacity, he came out of retirement and set up a practice in Portree. In 1985, after another dentist had come to Skye and was more than capable of looking after the populations dentistry needs, Jim finally hung up his tools and definitely retired, approaching his 70th birthday. He had served the people well.
I had the privilege of meeting Jim in 1986 here in Lodge St. Kilda. I hardly knew a soul, but he made me feel so welcome and at home and we developed a special friendship, albeit he was a generation older than me. Jim always made his fellow masons feel special and always had a humble outlook himself. He was well known throughout North Skye for the little yellow and black 1932 baby Austin motor car that he used to drive. He had purchased the vehicle for his son Ronald's 9th birthday. Jim looked after it whilst his son was working abroad.
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