John Gordon McKinnon

John Gordon “Jack” McKinnon went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, December 17, 2011, two and a half weeks after turning 90. A Churchman, Businessman and Civic Leader, he was a resident of Chattanooga since 1959.

Born in Painesville, Ohio, Mr. McKinnon was the son of the late Robert and Ruth Beacham McKinnon. He attended Fehn College in Cleveland, Ohio.

He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army in Africa and Italy. Mr. McKinnon met his future wife, Vivian, while stationed in Greensboro, North Carolina, awaiting discharge from the Army in 1945, and they were married one year later.

Following his military service, he was a manufacturing sales representative for a number of years before changing careers and joining MassMutual Life Insurance Company in Chattanooga. He achieved membership in the Million Dollar Round Table.

Along with previous service as Elder and Sunday School Teacher, Mr. McKinnon was an active member of First Presbyterian Church, where he served on the Deacon Board and Missions Committee, and sang in the church choir for over 28 years.

He was a member of Gideons International, as well as the Downtown Optimist Club, where he served twice as President and chaired the flag committee for the Armed Forces Day parade.

Mr. McKinnon became associated with the Chattanooga Area Prayer Breakfast shortly after its founding, and he headed publicity for the event for many years.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a son, John Gordon “Don” McKinnon, Jr.

Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Vivian Jessup McKinnon; daughter, Ruth McKinnon, Needham, Massachusetts; son, Rob McKinnon and wife, Marta, Goshen, Kentucky; Daughter-in-law, Carolyn McKinnon Thompson and husband, Wayne of Blacksburg, Virginia; grandchildren, Ryan McKinnon and wife, Elizabeth, Becky McKinnon, Ellie and Will McKinnon; niece, Fay Cochran, Manassas, Virginia; one sister-in-law, Elizabeth Jessup of Manassas, Virginia.

A celebration of Mr. McKinnon’s life will be held at First Presbyterian Church at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, December 28. Burial will follow in Chattanooga National Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, South Moore Road on Tuesday, December 27, from 5-7 PM and at the church one hour before the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Changed Lives or Gideons International, Chattanooga East Camp, PO Box 8792, Chattanooga, TN 37414.

Arrangements are by the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 404 South Moore Road.