MacMillan `Mac' Pringle headed investment firm

As a young man, MacMillan "Mac" Pringle, whose roots traced to early Seattle settlers, had his eye on civil engineering, for which he earned a degree at Yale University.

But such was his grasp of history, economics and numbers, as shown in a postgraduate job at Manhattan's Grace Bank, that he morphed into one of Seattle's leading investment brokers.

He handled pension-fund assets for major Northwest corporations and for municipalities such as the city of Seattle.

He also played a respectable game of golf, once having a 4 handicap. A longtime member of Seattle Golf Club, he played with the Pacific Northwest Seniors group.

"A lot of people looked to him for guidance, and he counseled a few who went out to found their own investment firms," said his stepson Bill Tenneson of Seattle.

Mr. Pringle died Monday (April 17) of kidney disease. He was 75.

Although retired from Pringle, Flinn, Elvins & Donahoe, he still served special clients from an office at his home in Seattle's Broadmoor area.

The Seattle native attended Garfield High School and graduated from New Hampshire's venerable Phillips Exeter Academy.

After serving as a naval officer in Honolulu during World War II, he earned his civil-engineering degree at Yale. He subsequently worked at the New York bank and served as a naval officer in Korea.

Returning to Seattle, he spent 20 years as a stockbroker at Blyth & Co.

In 1971 he became president of Pringle, Flinn and Knowles, a Seattle investment counseling firm that became Pringle, Flinn, Elvins & Donahoe. He guided its growth to manage more than $400 million by the early 1980s, when he retired. His group merged in 1985 with the Sirach group, ranked by some newspapers as among the nation's most influential investment firms.

"Mac was one of the finest investment men I've known, a true gentleman," said Ted Pappas of D.A. Davidson & Co. "He had an ability to discern the really long-term investment goals of clients. A real value investor. He couldn't believe what is going on in the market today."

Mr. Pringle avidly read history, collected stamps and served on the board of the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle.

"He had a wonderful memory. His recall of his childhood, Yale days and world events was quite current," said Tenneson. "He was always entertaining, ready to challenge your opinion and a wonderful conversationalist."

Also surviving are his wife of 28 years, Barbara Pringle; children, MacMillan Pringle Jr. of Mercer Island, David Pringle of San Mateo, Calif., and Sarah Volz of Northampton, Mass.; stepson John Tenneson of Seattle; and six grandchildren.

Services are at 4 p.m. tomorrow at Epiphany Church, 38th Avenue and East Denny Way, Seattle.

Donations may go to Northwest Kidney Foundation, P.O. Box 3035, Seattle, WA 98114, or to the Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center Foundation, P.O. Box 5371, Seattle, WA 98105.

Carole Beers' e-mail address is cbeers@seattletimes.com