Kent D. "Mac" MacKinnon

Kent D. “Mac” MacKinnon, 70, of Mount Joy passed away unexpectedly at his residence on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. Kent was the son of the late Hector E. and Helen (Weissent) MacKinnon. Kent was the proud father of Matthew D. MacKinnon and his wife Brandi of North Easton, MA, and Melissa E. Dowdle and her husband Brendan of Stoneham, MA. He is survived by his sister Laurel Donnelly and husband Edward of Northborough, MA, his brother Mark MacKinnon and wife Teri of Portsmouth, RI and two grandchildren.

Born in Milton, Massachusetts, he grew up in nearby Needham, graduating from Needham High School in 1967 where he was best known for his outstanding trumpet playing. Moving on to Northeastern University, Boston, he traded his trumpet for an oar, joining the fledgling rowing program. During his four years of crew, he was instrumental in leading Northeastern to their first Eastern Sprints championship in 1972 over 16 other teams including favored Harvard and Penn. This victory led to a major article in Sports Illustrated and earned the team a trip to the Royal Henley regatta in England, where they were barely edged in the finals for the Grand Challenge Cup by the Russian Olympic Team. As an alumni rower in 1973, he competed again at Henley, this time in the coxed-four category where they won the top prize, the Prince Phillip Challenge Cup, while setting a course record that stood in the Guinness Book of World Records for more than 20 years. He was set to be selected for the national team for the 1974 World Championship when he developed back spasms on the last day of tryouts and was passed over. He also served as an assistant to the coach of the U. S. women’s sculling team for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

Kent eventually gave up rowing and settled into the work for which his business degree from Northeastern prepared him. He served in executive management positions for numerous national corporations, most recently at the former National Pretzel Company in Lancaster. Though living in Pennsylvania for many years, he remained a major fan of his beloved Boston sports teams.

Services will be private and at the convenience of the family.


In lieu of flowers, contributions in Kent’s memory can be made to the Pan Mass Challenge (https://profile.pmc.org/MD0420) in the name of Kent’s daughter Melissa Dowdle. The Pan-Mass Challenge raises money for life-saving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through an annual bike-a-thon that crosses Massachusetts.
Contributions can also be made in Kent’s name to the Ernie Arlett Men’s Rowing Endowed Fund (https://giving.northeastern.edu/live/profiles/626-ernie-arlett-mens-rowing-endowed-fund) which supports the men’s varsity rowing program at Northeastern University