Donald McKinnon, 85 | Obituaries

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LACONIA Donald McKinnon, 85, founder and former owner of Ridgewood, New Jersey Cycle Shop, died Thursday, July 1, at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital in Lebanon.

Mr. McKinnon was born December 15, 1935, in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of the late John and Bertha (Nyenhouse) McKinnon. He grew up in Ridgewood and attended community schools.

In 1955, he joined the U.S. Army and served in Germany. He was honorably discharged in 1957 as an expert in the fourth class, specializing in weapons and mechanics.

Back in Ridgewood, he enrolled at Farmington State College in New York, where he graduated in horticulture, finishing his degree in 1961. Gardening remained a lifelong pursuit.

An avid cyclist, he opened the Ridgewood Cycle Shop in 1965 and managed the business for 35 years before passing the handlebars to his son Andrew, who runs the shop now in his 56th year with his brother James.

Growing up, Mr. McKinnon worked at his fathers florist shop in Ridgewood. One of his jobs is confining rodents and skunks around greenhouses. Occasionally, he sprayed and picked up the aroma at school. Come home, Donnie McKinnon! his teacher once told him, You stink! She willingly made it to enjoy her favorite lunch, rice pudding served by her grandmother.

Introduced to the violin by his uncle Ludwig, Mr. McKinnon liked classical music, especially the guitar. Blessed with a deep bass voice, he sang for 50 years with the First Presbyterian Church Choir in Ridgewood. He also attended Ridgewoods Community Presbyterian Church.

Mr. McKinnon is an experienced far -flung cyclist and once came from Seattle, Washington, to New York City to raise money for Alzheimers awareness and research. He cycled up and down the East Coast and the western states.

He is an active member of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce and the Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey. His bike shop has grown to be a place for cyclists. He organized a charity to give bicycles to children and adults who could not afford them. He would mock and fix old bikes, then conduct giveaway events. He also gave free bicycle repair classes.

Together with his friend McDonald Emanuel, the two built a church for residents in poor Trinidad.

In retirement, Mr. McKinnon and his wife Charlotte (Whittemore) McKinnon moved to Cutler, Maine, where they built a log home overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. For a decade they enjoyed simple living in a coastal fishing village where fishing neighbors would bring all kinds of seafood to their doorstep. Mr. McKinnon repaired the bikes and returned the cars while at Cutler. He sang with Cutler United Methodist Church.

In 2018, the couple moved to Laconia to be closer to family. In February of that year a serious collapse sent her to the Belknap County Nursing Home, where she remained under the loving care of staff until her death three years later.

He leaves his wife, Charlotte (Whittemore) McKinnon of Laconia; a daughter, Nina Burrows and husband, Mark, of Fort Worth, Texas; three sons, Andrew McKinnon of Midland Park, New Jersey, Shawn McKinnon and wife, Leslie, of Keller, Texas, and James McKinnon of Wyckoff, New Jersey; a sister, Lois Beers of Woodinville, Washington; six grandchildren, Emma and Grace Burrows, and Tyler, Caroline, Connor and Claire McKinnon; two step-sons, Matthew Perry and wife, Kara, of Bridgewater, New Jersey, and Andrew Perry and wife, Danielle, of North Andover, Massachusetts; six step-grandchildren, Jack, Aidan, Zane, Shane, Drew and Morgan Perry; four nephews, and a brother -in -law Herbert Whittemore of Intervale. He was preceded by his beloved sister, Eileen McKinnon, of Roque Bluffs, Maine.

A memorial service will be held this past month in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Donations may be made in Donald’s name at the Belknap County Nursing Home, 30 County Drive, Laconia, NH 03246.

Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., are assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view a memorial online, visit wilkinsonbeane.com.

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