James Alexander MacInnis
April 18, 1934 – March 22, 2022
James MacInnis was a man, a humble man, a fiercely independent man, from Cape Breton. He was born with a love of adventure, and left home at 15 to start his life-long explorations. From working on the Lakers from Ontario to Superior, to an apprenticeship as an electrician in Montreal, to a long career with Maritime Tel & Tel as a Lineman (and as Union President, nothing less!), Jim lived his life to the fullest. He was renowned for his wicked Scottish sense of humour, as much as for his natural affable nature and outreach, even to perfect strangers. His adventuring spirit was softly captured, though, by the Woman who was to be the love of his life – Barbara, his dear Barbara. Their unlikely destiny and decades long love affair, led to Jim’s other great passion: his beautiful family. Strikingly, upon the birth of his son James (Christine-deceased), and then again for each of their three daughters – Adele, Michelle (Dennis), and Barbara (Larry) – this scrapping rough-house Scotsman held, with gentle awe, each newborn in his open hands and feasted upon the glory of life as if to say, ‘how is such perfection possible, I am so blessed!’ He was fearless in standing strong against dangers to protect his family, and others’ too – for over a decade Jim was also a volunteer fire fighter. And on one occasion, Jim plunged into a deadly current that had seized a young girl. While many looked on in disbelief, he acted. Jim dove deep into the murky water with no worry for himself, clutched her blue jacket at the last moment and tore her from the torrent. That young girl went on to marry and to found her own family.
Jim MacInnis worked until he was eighty and lived long enough to see the arrival of 3 grandchildren and one great-grand child.
He faced death with disregard, but thank goodness, Jim continues to live on, every day, through the memory that each of us have of him, and in our efforts to live up to his quiet, steadfast example of courage, fairness, forgiveness, and above all – love.
An inscription from a stone marker in his birthright of ol’ Scotland sums up the view of the world, of this amazing Man of the North:
The wonder of the world,
the beauty and the power,
the shapes of things,
their colours, lights, and shades;
these I saw.
Look ye also while life lasts…
James Alexander MacInnis 18 April, 1934 to March 22, 2022
The MacInnis family would like to sincerely thank the 9A staff at Victoria General for their amazing care of Jim in his last days…
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of James Alexander MacInnis April 18 1934 March 22 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Dartmouth, Province: Nova Scotia