Former DC Thomson general manager James Ronald (Ron) Whiteford has died aged 93.
He worked for the firm for 44 years and played a central role in the adoption of new technology.
Ron oversaw the introduction of the first commercial computers in the 1960s and was at the forefront of the modernisation of printing processes.
He also held the distinction of welcoming three prime ministers to the company’s premises; Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, twice, and John Major.
Beginnings
Ron was born in Partick, Glasgow, the youngest of three boys of James, an electrician, and his wife Elizabeth (Cran).
He was educated at Whitehill Senior Secondary School and then took up a post as a clerk with Glasgow firm Ivie Hair & Co. in 1945.
Two years later, Ron began National Service as a Royal Navy signalman before joining DC Thomson’s Glasgow transport department.
It was while working at DC Thomson that Ron met his future wife, Mae, in 1950. They married four years later. Son Leslie was born in 1957 and daughter Margo in 1959.
Ron progressed through the company’s management structure and joined the Dundee management team in 1966 where he was involved in the introduction of computers to the Meadowside and Bank Street premises.
He was promoted to manager of Meadowside in 1970 and then general manager of the whole company 10 years later.
His service coincided with many major changes undertaken by the company, most notably the replacement of hot metal composition with photosetting, and the move from letterpress to web offset printing, which kept DC Thomson at the vanguard of the printing industry.
Ron was also heavily involved in developments in Glasgow, Dundee, Manchester and London, including the establishment of new transport depots.
Expansion
He also moved the company into contract printing for other publishers using presses in both Dundee and Glasgow.
Ron and Mae made their home in Monifieth but latterly moved to Bearsden to be near their daughter Margo, who lives in Strathblane.
Margo is a retired consultant in clinical genetics and worked for many years at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.
Charity work
She was born with spina bifida and this led Ron and Mae to found the Scottish Spina Bifida Association (now known as Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland) with other parents.
Margo has chaired the charity for more than 20 years and also served as president of the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus for six years.
Margo, the 2009 Scotswoman of the Year, was awarded a CBE in 2017 and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Dundee University in 2022.
Ron and Mae’s son Leslie studied law at Dundee before training with Thomson McLintock as a chartered accountant. He moved overseas to work with Price Waterhouse Cooper in Hong Kong and had a long career in financial services around the world.
He is now based in London providing chief financial officer services to UK and overseas firms.
Leisure pursuits
Outside work, Ron had been a water polo player in his younger years and was a member at the Broughty Ferry and Press golf clubs, a member of Dundee and Tayside Chamber of Commerce, Dundee Rotary Club, the Bonnetmaker Craft and the Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee.
Ron and Mae were long-time members of St Aidan’s Church and, more recently, St Margaret’s Church, in Broughty Ferry.
Throughout their lives, Ron and Mae travelled extensively. They began with a trip to Jersey in 1973 and visited more than 50 countries.
The couple have three grandchildren in London; Tania, a property litigator; Mark, an accountant; Yasmin, a recent graduate in English from University College London.
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