Philip Robinson McKinnon

His family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday, October 16th at Harry & Bryant Co., 500 Providence Road in Charlotte. A committal service with military honors will be held at 11:00 Saturday, October 17th at Sharon Memorial Park, 5716 Monroe Road in Charlotte followed by a memorial service at 2:00 p.m. at Carmel Presbyterian Church, 2048 Carmel Road, also in Charlotte.

Phil was born in Mt Gilead, NC on January 1, 1925 to the late Claude Clinton McKinnon and Sallie Robinson McKinnon. He came from a large farming family of nine children. His siblings that lived to adulthood were Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Clinton, Max Lauchlin, Sara Anne, and Doris Lee. Phil was the youngest, and last surviving member of the C.C. McKinnon clan.

Phil was a dedicated Servant of the Lord at the Presbyterian churches where he served. The C.C. McKinnon family was a founding member of the First Presbyterian Church in Mount Gilead, NC close to their farm in Montgomery County. After graduation from High School and attending North Carolina State, Phil enlisted in the Army Air Corps and trained as a radio technician. He eventually became a radar technician during WWII serving in England and Europe.

After returning from WWII, Phil married Jean Nance of Troy, NC and enjoyed a 46 year union. They had two sons, Rod and Jonathan. Philip and Jean settled in Charlotte where he joined the largest wholesale heating and A/C distributor in the Carolinas - Carolina Heating & Air Conditioning Co.

Phil worked at CC Dickson Co. of Charlotte from the 60’s through the mid-70’s. He was the consummate business entrepreneur his entire life and found work to be both his passion and hobby. In 1975 he proceeded to buy Kissiah Distributing Co. In 2000 when it was sold to R. E. Michel Co., it was the oldest “HEIL Brand” Equipment Distributor in the United States.

Phil served as a Deacon and Elder at Plaza and Carmel Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. Phil and Jean were active church members and served as long-term Prayer Partners at both Plaza and Carmel Presbyterian. Their decades of Christian work included Prayer Leadership for the Billy Graham Crusades in the 1960’s, building expansion programs at Plaza Presbyterian Church and being avid supporters of overseas Christian Missionary Ministries.

Surviving Phil are his two sons, Philip Roderick “Rod” McKinnon and wife Cathy McKinnon of Matthews, NC and Jonathan Nance McKinnon of Bangkok, Thailand. His granddaughter is Shannon Richardson Stanley and husband Jeff Stanley, with great-granddaughter Riley Stanley of Indian Trail, NC; granddaughter and grandson (by marriage) - Melanie (Deal) Dagenhart of Greensboro, NC and Jack Deal of Denver, CO. His sister-in-law is Frances Kornegay of Troy, NC; and brother-in-law Clyde H. Nance of Florence, SC - are part of his extensive extended family.

In lieu of flowers, we invite donations to Carmel Presbyterian Church, 2048 Carmel Rd, Charlotte, NC 28226. Those gifts will be designated to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Evelyn Davis for her Wycliffe Missionary Service.