John Donald MacInnis was born in Northeast Mabou on May 31, 1927, and passed away peacefully on November 22, 2025. He was the first-born son of the late John James MacInnis and Margaret (Gillis) MacInnis.
John was predeceased by his wife Audrey of 63 years and his siblings, Annie Jane, Marie, Jim, Alex, Blaise and Richard.
John is survived by his daughter, Kathy (Paul) of West Mabou; and son, David (Debbie) of Ontario; grandchildren, Stephen, Katy (Mike), Julie (Adam), Kristy (Donnie), Peter and Kimberley (Jerome) and 10 great-grandchildren, He is also survived by siblings, Catherine and Dougald (Silvia); sister-in-law, Leona; and many nieces and nephews.
John lived a very full and adventurous filled life that led him to many different parts of the world. He loved the warmth of the sun and travelling to sun-soaked countries for his holidays which he did until he was 91 years old. He was always a hard worker and did any kind of job to provide for his wife and children. In his early years he was sailing on the Merchant Marine Oiler ships working as a chef. In his 40's he studied at George Brown College to be an Executive Chef and finished his career with the Municipality of Toronto as a Professional Executive Chef and was responsible for 700 meals three times a day. He was also called in to prepare meals for many of the Toronto City Hall meetings with the Mayor and City Council members. John loved the West Indies in particular and always looked back on his years sailing as the best times of his life, so he made sure that he went on a few cruises in the West Indies. He had a love of Cape Breton fiddle music and all the wonderful Cape Breton musicians. Until he was 94 years of age, he would often be seen at any one of the dances in Inverness County, dancing a waltz or in a square set. He was also someone who loved to go to Bingo and was always so happy when he won, which he did often. He loved a game of cards and especially if he was the one to win. He lived in the Inverary Manor, Inverness from the age of 95 until death where he was cared for in a very professional, kind caring and dignified way by all of the staff at the Manor. He ended his life suffering from Lewy Body Dementia with Parkinsons but was still a force to be reckoned with and he always enjoyed the parties at the Manor where he loved dancing to a tune with any one of the lady visitors to the Manor. Many warm thanks go out to Leah MacKinnon and her staff at the Manor for the wonderful work that they do and have done for my father John. Thank you also to Dr. Lok, dad's primary care physician and the other the years.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Research Fund of Canada or St. Mary's Cemetery, Mabou.
Visitation will take place in St. Mary's Church, Mabou on Thursday, December 4th, 2025, from 10-10:45 am with Funeral Mass to follow at 11:00 am, burial to follow in the parish cemetery.
Online condolences may be made to: www.invernessfuneralhome.com
