Obituary: Ron MacNiven - Bata, Edworks, Decofurn (24/09/1944-09/01/2022) - A corporate man with a rebellious sense of humour
Published: 14th Jan 2022
Durban, KZN, SA - Ron arrived in the then Rhodesia from Scotland as a schoolboy. He kept his Scottish accent throughout his life, which I teased him about.
Forever a Scotsman, no matter how long he\'d lived in Africa.
I met him in the late 1960s when he was one of Bata's retail shop managers in the then Salisbury. Through various promotions, he became retail personnel manager for the entire Rhodesian Bata retail operation with not an insignificant staff complement.
In the early 1980s Ron emigrated to South Africa and joined the Edworks Group specifically the wholesale division, working with Neville Dodo.
Ron was relocated to Port Elizabeth to the Edworks Factory where he remained until the liquidation of the operation.
Ron went on join Decofurn as a buyer, which he did very successfully until his retirement.
Ron with his Grandchildren
With his partner of later years.
The last period of Ron’s life wasn't easy, losing his wife and his eldest daughter tragically, but he kept his sense of humour, which was often portrayed in his cartoons, some of which featured in Shoes and Views. Although he worked for very big companies, his heart was with independent retailers and manufacturers.
Ron is survived by his partner of some years, Avis Swanepoel, and his twin daughters.
The seaside and angling...all moments of relaxation.
His cartoons usually poked fun at big business.
By John Bouwer, Eddels
Ron was a scholar and a gentleman, great dry sense of humour. I appreciated how he always gave you the time of day and was a big supporter of local manufacturing. Sorely missed. RIP Big Ron.
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