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BENJAMIN F. ARRINGTON 1856-1927

Deputy Grand Master, 1927

MEMORIAL

From Proceedings, Page 1927-293:

Right Worshipful Benjamin F. Arrington, Deputy Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts, died at his home on Sunday,, December 4th, 1927, after a short illness, and was buried on Tuesday, December 6th, the Grand Lodge conducting the Masonic Burial Service at the request of the family of our deceased Brother.

Brother Arrington had been with us on several occasions conducted by the Grand Lodge in the period immediately preceding his last illness. He attended at the Dedication of the Masonic Temple at Quincy on Monday, November 21st, and was in excellent spirits and apparently in good health. On Friday, November 25th, he attended at a Fraternal visit to Konohassett Lodge of Cohasset on the occasion of the presentation of Veteran's Medals to two of our elder Brethren. This seemed to be an especially enjoyable event to him. To several, he spoke of his happiness in his Masonic associations and particularly of the delight which he experienced on such occasions as that one was. He suffered an attack of pneumonia the following day and succumbed after an illness of eight days.

Brother Arrington was Entered in Mount Carmel Lodge December 12, 1887, Passed January 9, 1888, and Raised February 18, 1888. He was Worshipful Master of Mount Carmel Lodge in 1896 and 1897. In 1900 he became Secretary of Mount Carmel Lodge and held this office until 1906. He was active in the formation of Damascus Lodge, laying down the Secretaryship of Mount Carmel Lodge that he might devote himself to the new Lodge. He was its Worshipful Master under Dispensation, and its first Master under Charter, serving in 1906 and 1907. October 16, 1907 he took the Secretaryship of Damascus Lodge and held it until his death.

He was a iife-long newspaper man. Beginning in 1878 as a reporter on the Lynn Reporter, he served later on the Lynn Bee and on Boston papers. His rise in the profession was rapid, and he became General Manager of the Salem News in 1880. In 1884 he went to Springfield as General Manager of the Springfield Republican, but very soon returned to the Salem News as Editor-in-Chief. He held this position until his retirement in 1920.

It is difficult to appraise in a brief space the character of our beloved Brother or the contribution which he made to the world and to the lives of others. His seemed to those who knew him best a life of complete success and achievement. Generous in thought as well as in deed, kindly in all his associations, loving and lovable, he was a friend to all and all who knew him were his friends. His was one of those rare spirits which brighten the lives of all those with whom they come in contact. His life was an example which served as an inspiration to many, especially to younger men, to higher purposes and to nobler aims. To many who came into intimate acquaintance with him he seemed to typify the ideals and the tenets of our Fraternity to which he was sincerely devoted and which he served with unswerving fidelity and affection for nearly forty years.

To those of us who were privileged to know him intimately,, mingled with our sorrow for the loss we have suffered at the parting for a while, there is a sense of gratitude for all he meant to us, for the inspiration of his life and his example, for his assistance, his counsel, and his guidance, for his cheerful and loving disposition which often made smooth what seemed difficult and trying situations, for his genuineness and his sincerity.

He was fine in his manliness, lovable in his home, loyal in his friendships, and useful in his citizenship. His strength of character and of conviction was exercised with gentleness and patience. A man of unfailing courtesy and tact, he was quickly responsive in his sympathy and understanding of the views of others. Withal he was a man and a Mason for whose life the world is richer, and whose memory is a cherished possession and a challenge to higher achievement.

From Proceedings, Page 1928-59:

R.W. Benjamin F. Arrington was born in Leominster, Mass., JuIy 6, 1856. When he was three years oid his family removed to Lynn, which was henceforth his home except for a very brief residence in Springfield. After leaving school he learned the printing trade in the office of the Lynn Reporter. In 1878 he became a reporter on that paper and in 1880 was appointed General Manager of the Salem News. In 1884 he went to Springfield as General Manager for the Springfield Republican, but thirteen months later he returned to his home in Lynn and became Editor-in-Chief of the News, there to remain until his retirement from active business in 1920.

Although not a college man, Brother Arrington had the scholar's temperament and a highly cultivated mind, trained by travel and study as well as by his editorial work. He did special writing for publications other than his paper, edited a history of Essex County, and did a considerable amount of translating from the French.

Brother Arrington became a Freemason at the age of thirty-one, when his mind had become matured but not hardened by the experience of his busy years as a newspaper man. IIe quickly appreciated the power and beauty of Masonic teaching and thereafter it had a large and influential place in his life and thought. Although a member of other Masonic bodies his work and interest centered in the Lodge and to it he gave the best that was in him. He was Entered in Mount Carmel Lodge December 12, 1887, Passed January 9, 1888, and Raised February 18, 1888. Passing through the chairs in Mount Carmel Lodge, he served it as Worshipful Master in 1896 and 1897. In 1900 he accepted the office of Secretary and held it until 1906. In that year he became one of the leaders in the founding of Damascus Lodge and resigned his secretaryship that he might devote himself to the new Lodge. He was Worshipful Master under Dispensation and for the first year under Charter, passing in 1907 from the East to the Secretary's desk. Here he served continuously until his death.

His official service was of the very highest type. As a Master he was wise, able, and far-seeing, exemplifying in his character and in his work the qualities which fill and adorn the Oriental Chair. He was indeed a pillar of Wisdom in his Lodge. As a Secretary he was a model of all that a competent Secretary should be careful and extraordinarily accurate in the clerical part of his duties, he was a strong support and a wise counsellor to every Master with whom he served. Fortunate indeed is the Master who has a man like him at the Secretary's desk.

Brother Arrington's Masonic attainments and great service to the Craft received deserved recognition in his appointment as Deputy Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts in December 1926. He discharged the duties of his high office with credit to himself and honor to the Fraternity. On occasion he presided in the East of the Grand Lodge with ease and dignity. He rendered the Craft great service by preparing the first draft of the greater part of the Manual for Instructors on which the work of our Lodges of Instruction is based. It was source of inexpressible grief to his associates in the official family that he did not live quite to complete his year of office. He took great pleasure in accompanying the Grand Master and his officers not only at formal Grand Lodge functions but also the more informal visits, such as Veteran's Medal presentations and the like. On these occasions he gave more pleasure than he received. Always genial, always kindly, always appreciative, he possessed that rare and admirable combination, keenness of insight into the deepest and finest things and a rich, quiet sense of humor. Only the night before the onset of his fatal illness he accompanied the Grand Master on a visit to present Veteran's Medals and showed and expressed his great enjoyment of the occasion and its happy fellowship. This was on November 25th. The next day came an attack of pneumonia, and on December 4th he passed. to the celestial Lodge.

At the request of his widow he was buried with Masonic rites which were conducted by the Grand Lodge. The funeral was held in the Second Congregational (Unitarian) Church, of Lynn, of which he had been for many years a member and member of the Board of Trustees. The church service was conducted by his friend and recent pastor, Most Worshipful and Reverend Dudley H. Ferrell.

Mrs. Arrington survives him; there were no children. So closed a very useful and beautiful life. It was a life full of good deeds, enriched by many friendships. It was a privilege to know him. He was one of those who shed life and light and joy along the paths they tread. To his associates he was a tower of strength. To young men, often without his own knowledge of the fact, he was an inspiration and a guide. Bishop Brooks once said that the best service a man could render the world was to be his own best self. This was Bro. Arrington's service. He did not do great things, as the world judges one's doings, things which are voiced abroad by the trump of fame. He just lived a great life, and who can estimate the service of it? As one of his associates on the staff of the newspaper said of him the day after his death, "He was a real man, with real ability, and a real friend to all who knew him.

Respectfully and fraternally submitted,
Frederick W. Hamilton,
Herbert P. Bailey,
Frank E. Swain,
Committee.

Distinguished Brothers