The Northern Presbytery learned with sincere sorrow of the death of Mr John Grant at his home in Inverness in August of this year, and consider that the removal of this godly man, who on many occasions was a member of this court, should be noted in the minutes of the court, accompanied by a brief appreciation of his gracious character and the many notable services which he was able through a long life of usefulness to give to our Church and to the Cause of Christ.
John Grant was born at Dornoch, Sutherland, more than 90 years ago, of godly parents who trained their family in the doctrines of the faith and the principles of the Church. He entered the banking profession at Dornoch in 1893, and throughout his long banking career till his retirement in 1943, while holding the position of teller in the Bank of Scotland, Inverness, maintained an unbroken connection with the Free Presbyterian Church. He served in early manhood in the Haddington and Dumbarton branches of the bank, and while here he considered it to be his duty to make public profession of his faith, and was received into full communion with the Church by the Kirk Session of St. Jude’s congregation, Glasgow. On the death of Mr MacGillivray, Mr Grant was appointed general treasurer to the Church by the Synod in May 1924, and for the long period of 36 years, till compelled by age to relinquish this position, he deservedly enjoyed the confidence of the Church by his careful management of the Church’s finances. Mr Grant was elected to the eldership of the Inverness congregation, and with his brethren on the Kirk Session his relations over many years were invariably affectionate and harmonious. He served on the committees and courts of the Church where he gave invaluable assistance by sound, reliable counsel on financial affairs.
His spirit of genial friendliness and the sincere personal interest he showed in each of his correspondents who wrote him on financial matters gave evidence of a man of the widest Christian sympathies, and endeared him to a large circle of friends in the Church and beyond her borders, and with these friends he kept in the closest contact to the end of his life, as they regularly wrote him from all over the world when the need to consult him on Church matters was no longer necessary. Of a gentle, retiring nature, Mr Grant shunned any approach to drawing attention to himself, but unobtrusively sought the good of Sion and the glory of the Redeemer’s kingdom. In private, Mr Grant was a humble, loving companion, who by his Christian conversation and his lavish hospitality entertained all who visited him and welcomed the many friends of the Church who, as they had often occasion to do, met in his home at Millburn Road, Inverness, to conduct the work of the Church’s committees. His sudden death has removed a highly honoured and greatly respected Christian from our midst, whose passing all who knew him sincerely mourn.
The court, met on the 14th day of November 1967, desire to express its sympathy with his gracious widow and the three sons and daughter who survive him, and pray that the Lord will be the support of the widow and the refuge and confidence of the members of the bereaved family; and especially, they wish to offer their sympathy to Rev. Wm. Grant, his brother, now living in retirement at Dingwall, and till lately a member of this Presbytery.