Ronald (Ron) MacDougall

Ronald (Ron) MacDougall, age 85, passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on Tuesday, November 25, 2025. Ron was the son of the late Joe and Amelia (Tomney) MacDougall and a lifelong resident of Sydney Mines. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 49 years and best friend, Ethel (Steele).

He is survived by his three children, Allan (Carmel), Georges River; Stephen (Jennifer), Sydney Mines; and Jane (Ian) MacDonald, Sydney Mines, as well as his two cherished granddaughters, Amelia (Travis) and Kenna, at whose sight his heart would always light up. He is also survived by two brothers, Cameron (Gladys), Antigonish, and Father Angus, Sydney Mines.

Ron is also survived by nieces Ann Marie MacDougall, Toronto; Maureen (Kim) Dunn, Boutilier’s Point, NS; Monica (Sheumas) MacNeil, Caribou Marsh; Joe (Joanna) MacDougall, Halifax; and Tony MacDougall, Antigonish.

He is also survived by a large number of grand-nieces and nephews.

Besides his parents, Joe and Amelia, and his wife Ethel, Ron was predeceased by an older brother, Joseph, in infancy, and Father Hugh of Scarboro Mission.

Ron enjoyed sports, especially hockey and tennis, along with skiing. He was a member of the Notre Dame Athletic Club Juvenile hockey team, which won the Maritime Juvenile championship in 1957–1958. Along with team members, he was inducted into the Cape Breton Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Northside Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. He enjoyed coaching minor hockey and playing with the “speedy” Northside Colliery Old Timers.

He and Ethel spent many summers at the cottage on the Bras d’Or Lake among the friendly folks of beautiful Kempt Head.

Ron was an active parishioner of the former Immaculate Conception Parish and more recently of Holy Family Parish, Sydney Mines. He and Ethel were active in the Cursillo community for many years. He was a dedicated worker with the St. Vincent de Paul Society along with people like the late Eddy Doyle and other Vincentians, which he found very fulfilling. He was deeply committed to his community and served on various boards, including CAMR, Community Health Board, NEDAC, Amnesty International, and Chair of Resi-Care Cape Breton Association.

Ron began working full-time as a teenager in the family business, MacDougall’s Wholesale, alongside his father and longtime co-workers Albert Lionais, Bill Bradley, and Verna Sampson. He became involved in his father’s insurance business (founded 1930) while still in his twenties and eventually became the full-time owner and operator of MacDougall’s Insurance up until his retirement, when he was succeeded by his son Allan and daughter Jane.

He was a man of great faith, humility, privacy, and friendliness whose generous, kind, and disciplined nature touched many, including those whose names are not known.

Visitation will be held on Friday, November 28th, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at J.M. Jobes Funeral Home, 635 Main Street, Sydney Mines. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, November 29th, at 11:00 AM in the Holy Family Church, Sydney Mines, with Father Angus MacDougall officiating. Committal to follow at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Sydney Mines.

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