A. (Arthur) S. Dinnie, president of the Minneapolis Builders Supply Company, one of the representative business interests of the city, has been a resident of Minneapolis since 1915. He was born in Morrisburg, Ontario, Canada, a son of John and Ellen (Schwardfeger) Dinnie, who were of Scotch and German descent, respectively. The family crossed the border into the United States in 1880, settling at Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the father engaged in the general contracting and brick manufacturing business and later formed a partnership with his brother, James A., under the firm name of Dinnie Brothers. John Dinnie became one of the substantial and representative citizens of Grand Forks. A. S. Dinnie of this review was but two years of age when the family settled at Grand Forks. He acquired a public school education there and then learned the brick manufacturing business. From 1899 until 1905 he was in the cement business and later was identified with the firm of Dinnie Brothers, which was engaged in general construction work of all kinds.
In 1907 he succeeded to his father's interests in the business, which he continued under the old firm name in partnership with his uncle, James A. Dinnie. In 1915 A. S. Dinnie severed his connection with the concern and came to Minneapolis, where for a year he was identified with the Coleman Brick & Tile Company. In 1916 he bought out the Mill City Lime & Cement Company, becoming its president and continuing as chief executive officer after the concern was reorganized as the Minneapolis Builders Supply Company. He is an excellent and broad-minded business man and his support of any enterprise, commercial or otherwise for the advancement of the community is always sure to be guided by intelligence and good Judgment, as well as impelled by an energetic force of character and determination to make whatever is in hand entirely successful. Aside from the supply business Mr. Dinnie is a stockholder in the Zenith Insurance Company, Incorporated, a director of the Tabasco Plantation Company, and a member of the executive committee of the latter corporation. While a resident of Grand Forks, North Dakota, he invested heavily in farm lands and business property and now owns some of the most valuable land in that state.
Politically Mr. Dinnie is a staunch supporter of the republican party and the principles for which it stands. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, being an exemplary member of the craft. He was influential in getting the Kem Shrine for Grand Forks, North Dakota, and he is a charter member of that organization. He is likewise affiliated with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and holds membership in the Automobile Club of Minneapolis. Mr. Dinnie has been close and constant in attention to his business enterprises and has made them profitable. He has also been zealously attentive to the welfare of his home city and earnest and active in his efforts to promote it. (History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest, Volume II, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, Minneapolis, 1923, Pages 257 and 258)
Dinnie Dies in Mill City. Arthur Sheldon Dinnie, 66 years old, retired contractor and former Grand Forks resident died Friday night in a Minneapolis hospital following a heart attack four weeks ago. The son of Mr. and Mrs. John Dinnie, pioneer Grand Forks residents, he was born in Morrisburg, Ont., Canada, and came to Grand Forks with his parents when he was four years old. Mr. Dinnie attended the local schools and the University of North Dakota before entering the Dinnie Bros. contracting firm here. He took over his father’s interest in the firm at the time of the latter’s retirement in 1910. Leaving Grand Forks about 25 years ago, Mr. Dinnie formed the Minneapolis Building Supply company, of which he was president at the time of his death. He was a member of several Masonic groups including Corinthian chapter and St. Aldemar commandery and was a charter member of Kem temple in Grand Forks. Mr. Dinnie is survived by his wife, the former Anne Mortenson, and five sisters, Mrs. C. L. Van Alstine, Great Falls, Mont.; Mrs. S. D. McKinnon, Miles City, Mont.; Mrs. Ray Stinson, Pembina, N. D.; Mrs. W. D. Fee and Hazel Dinnie of Minneapolis. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at the Lakewood chapel in Minneapolis. (Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, June 24, 1945, Volume 64, Number 205, Page 5)