Ronald Dean McMahon
May 29, 1946 – May 2, 2022
Rancho Santa Fe
Ronald Dean McMahon, a California native and long-time resident of Rancho Santa Fe, passed away on May 2, 2022.
Ron was born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley by his parents, Wilton and Esther McMahon. After spending two years at Westmont College in Montecito, he transferred to the University of Southern California and earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree with honors in 1970. After marrying his college sweetheart, Maureen Harvey, they left the Pasadena area and moved to Orange Park Acres, a rural, horse loving area where they raised their three small children.
Ron founded Ronald D. McMahon Architects (later known as The McMahon Partnership) in 1972 in Santa Ana, California. Besides designing commercial buildings and shopping centers, the firm worked on many international projects such as Parque Interama in Buenos Aires (the largest amusement park in the world), Dicken’s London (proposed theme park featuring Charles Dicken’s characters experienced in a Victorian era building, the Royal Agricultural Hall), and a proposed Egyptian themed attraction featuring the story of the Pharaohs and pyramids with a new museum to house Egypt’s treasures and ancient artifacts.
In 1984, the family moved to Rancho Santa Fe where Ron and his long-time friend, Don Oliphant, established a real estate development business called McMahon/Oliphant Properties. After many successful years that partnership ended, and Ron founded the McMahon Development Group which he ran until he was disabled by a stroke in 2012.
As a community volunteer, he served as Chairman of the Board for various organizations including the Rancho Santa Fe Association, the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation, and the YMCA of Santa Ana. He served as an elder at Seacoast Community Church and for twenty years was the Board Chairman of Asian Access, a Christian nonprofit organization focused on Asia.
Ron was an avid outdoorsman and loved spending time in Montana fly-fishing on the Bitterroot River with his family, friends, and favorite fishing guide, Kurt Rausch. Even after his stroke, he continued to fish the Bitterroot with his son and nephews on their annual fly-fishing trip. He was an avid duck hunter and spent many happy days with his son, Matt, and other men and their sons traveling to interesting places with their Labrador retrievers.
Somehow, while maintaining a busy professional life, Ron’s greatest success came as a father to his three kids. No matter how busy he was, he always prioritized his children giving them love, guidance, wisdom, and plenty of affection. He will be deeply missed by his wife of 53 years, Maureen, his children, Matthew McMahon, Allison Harris, Paige Danielson, their spouses Chad Harris and Frank Danielson, and his six grandchildren Cameron, Hayden, and Molly Harris, Jackson McMahon, and Charlotte and Maxwell Danielson. He is survived by his two sisters, Marilyn Jensen and Carolyn Koon, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in Ron’s honor to www.visionofchildren.org or to www.asianaccess.org.
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Published by Rancho Santa Fe Review on Jun. 23, 2022.
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