William MacKenzie, Deacon, Inverness
The Lord has pronounced that the offspring of the wicked will never be renowned but that the seed of the righteous shall be blessed and their offspring with them. William MacKenzie was born into a God-fearing family in the home at Inverness in 1907 from which, however, he was deprived at the age of 8 years of his saintly father who was for many years a deacon in the Inverness congregation. To his mother was left the responsibility of caring for a family of four young children. She herself had professed to know the Lord from the early age of 20 years and had spent her youth amidst the scenes of the labours of Rev. George MacLeod, the eminent minister of Ullapool. She trained up her family carefully to walk in wisdom’s ways and had the joy of seeing some of her family join her in the profession of Christ. William, however, while always a dutiful son and careful in his life, gave no indication of any spiritual interest in the Gospel more than might be expected of a member of such a household. The Lord’s people were always welcomed into the home at Kenneth Street, Inverness where for many years the godly men and women of the early church gathered on communion occasions. William’s interest was stirred and he was drawn by the company and conversation of these pious people which contributed greatly, he recalled in later years, to forming those serious religious impressions on his mind which never left him. Communion seasons in the congregation always made him uneasy. He felt a strong attachment to the Lord’s people whom he respected and loved and longed to be able to say that he belonged to their number. Between himself and his mother there grew up a strong bond of affection and she longed and prayed for the day when her son would become a follower of Christ.
He married in 1938 the daughter of William MacAngus, a godly elder of the early congregation of our church at Fearn, and in her he found one who could sympathise with him and aid him in his spiritual pilgrimage. Others too were interested in him. He was greatly encouraged to learn that to the godly wife of one of our late Dingwall elders, Mrs Samuel Fraser, the words of Psalm 105, verse 19, occurred as she thought of William: “Until the time that His word came, the word of the Lord tried him.” Several more years passed and he came before the Inverness Session who were glad to receive him into the full membership of the Church on the Saturday of the winter communion of 1967. Many rejoiced at this step. When he emerged from the Session meeting, he was met by an old friend, the late Dr Peter Aulay MacLeod, Stornoway, who had waited for him in the lane outside the Church and greeted him with kindly words of affection, indicating the place that he had in the worthy doctor’s prayers. His earthly course thereafter was short. He contracted diabetes, no doubt induced by the severe strain and overwork of his many business responsibilities. He was for many years the sole Director for the North of Scotland of the large business firm he worked for, besides being connected with important public bodies in the town. When the nature of his illness was disclosed in 1958, his wife suggested that he take up Hezekiah’s prayer that 15 years be added to his life. Later, it appeared that he had done so and it is significant of the answer he received to his prayers that as 1974 approached he felt that the end was drawing near, although this was unknown to his closest friends. On the day of his death, when unable to speak, he was reminded of the words of Psalm 33, verse 4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me”, and a smile lit up his face to intimate that he understood.
This worthy man was active most of his life in the affairs of the Church. He became treasurer of the congregation in 1940 and gave the last years of retirement to improving the financial position of the congregation which he left in sound condition. He succeeded the late Mr John MacQueen as leader of the praises of the sanctuary. He was an able helper of the Church courts and acted as general auditor of the Church. He accompanied the late Finlay Beaton, elder, a life long friend, on the trip which they took in 1971 to the Holy Land. Aberdeen and Fearn were two young congregations of the Church in which he took a deep practical interest. He was a firm friend of the Free Presbyterian Church from whose Testimony he never swerved; he impressed upon his family and friends the duty of maintaining steadfastly their adherence to the Church’s position. In his later years the young occupied a special place in his public prayers. Before the end came, it consoled him to know that his four sons were professed believers in Christ. Many beyond his family, his widow and sons and his three sisters who survive him, or his minister and congregation, will mourn the passing of this likeable and most useful servant of Christ. “The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance” (Psalm 112:6). A.F.M.
To keep gospel truth in the Church is of even greater importance than to keep peace — J. C. Ryle