Ronald Macdonald was a character, but he was also a man with character, if you know what I mean.
For a long time in the 1990s and early 2000s he was so well known you could say he was what passes for a celebrity in Campbelltown.
Sadly, Ronald Macdonald passed away somewhat unexpectedly last Sunday morning at the age of 76.
His funeral will be held at 10.30am next Thursday, April 10, in the south chapel at Forest Lawn, Leppington.
Bozo, as some people called him because of his uncanny resemblance to the late rugby league legend Bob ‘Bozo the clown’ Fulton, was one of the best networkers I’ve ever met.
In fact, he put networking to work long before the kids of today in the marketing industry realised its importance in business dealings.
After a few years’ break, in 2018 I reconnected with Ronnie McDonald at a lunch at what was still called “the Courtie’’, then Campbelltown’s best pub.
He told me that he had just endured a terrible business partnership which ended rather badly for him, and was looking for “new challenges’’.
Of course I wanted to help him and because he had been out of the limelight we decided a feature in the South West Voice may help.
Here is the piece if you’d like to read it: https://southwestvoice.com.au/say-name-ronald-macdonald-pull-one-pal/
From then he also became the online newspaper’s most loyal reader, and he would often contact me on a Monday when had received the South West Voice newsletter via email.
“Another great effort, son,’’ he would say or write, if he emailed back.
We caught up a few times over the next few years but, regrettably, not in 2025.
Then yesterday, a message was left on my phone from Ronald’s son, with the sad news.
Ronald Macdonald, rest in peace my dear friend.
