Donald Ernest MacAngus

Donald Ernest MacAngus passed away peacefully on July 22, 2025 at the age of 86.  

 

He was born on November 18, 1938 in San Francisco, California to Amelia Mae Ray (Robin) and Norman Donald MacKay MacAngus. He was the eldest of two children alongside his brother, David Anthony Ray, born to Amelia Mae Ray and his beloved stepfather, Ernest Anthony Ray (aka “Pop”).  

 

Don spent his childhood in San Francisco with his large, close family. He graduated Balboa High School in 1956 and married his high school sweetheart, Nina Mae MacAngus (Ridge) on June 8, 1957. Don and Nina had three children, Susan Ann Martin (Greg), Donald David MacAngus (Ruth), and Robin Lynn MacAngus (Hoke) by the age of 25 and spent their lives in Santa Cruz and eventually buying their family home in Soquel. They adopted their daughter, Nicole Margaret Rinaldi (Danit), along the way.  

 

Don worked as an accountant at Ebsco Industries, helped his brother David establish the printing and paper business DARCO Printing, and worked at UCSC where he worked his way up from the Payroll Office mail clerk to Payroll Manager before retiring after 35 years of dedicated and exemplary service. He cared deeply for his many friends, coworkers, and staff and endeavored to pay people “correctly and on time.” He and his daughter, Robin, experienced the 1989 earthquake on campus together.  

 

He had many interests over the years, reading everything he could about each one. He had a keen mind and could relay the information and history he learned verbatim. He even knew the name of the bison featured on the buffalo nickel and how Sarah Longacre was the model on the Indian head pennies.  

 

In his youth he was a member of the Santa Cruz Aquatechs skin diving club with his best friend, George Allshouse. As a certified diver, he would dive for pleasure and to hunt abalone along the coast requiring that he hold his breath while trying to pry them from rocks. He once assisted law enforcement by searching for a drowning victim in murky waters.  

 

His main love was playing his Martin guitar and performing whenever possible at his favorite place, The Cork and Fork, often sharing the stage with his friends. He never met a song he didn’t like, playing and singing them his way with added personal, comical verses. He wrote songs and enjoyed zoom Shelter Mic night during and after covid. He taught his children and many others how to play guitar and owned many of them over the years, both acoustic and electric. His other favorites were the Gretsch White Falcon and Fender Telecaster, both treasured gifts from his wife, Nina. He handed out guitar picks with his picture on them to everyone he met and liked, the “new form of photo identification…”  

 

He also loved Chess, competing with many in person and via the mail. His claim to fame was that he beat a Grand Master, no matter that it was due to the Grand Master passing away before the game was completed… He taught his kids to play chess and was reassured his daughter, Robin, was okay after brain surgery because she managed to beat him using the Kings Pawn opening.  

 

He excelled at Archery, becoming one of the top Men’s A freestyle archers in the nation. The kids grew up on the Santa Cruz Archers archery range after their dad taught them how to shoot and the family enjoyed competing together at all the archery shoots in the region. He spent many years holding various offices, running indoor and outdoor shoots, and facilitating the building of the indoor range twice and establishing a range record board where the family name is represented by all members of the family today. Don was always very proud of his family even if they managed to outshoot him, a rare occurrence.  

 

He was a member of the Santa Cruz Fly Fishing Club, attending the annual dinner and winning many raffle prizes with his friend, Dean Henry. He tied his own flies and used one to catch a huge trout at Kildary Loch in Scotland after the Scottish trout ignored the Scottish flies, impressing his cousin, Brian. He loved fishing and camping prior to discovering fly fishing and took the family on many trips to the Eel River, Lake Pillsbury, Dunsmuir, CA and backpacking at Kennedy Meadows.  

 

Don represented the California region of Clan MacInnes for many years and, with his brother David by his side, hosted the clan tent at the Scottish Games wearing his MacInnes kilt with pride. They spent many a night camping at the Pleasanton fairgrounds playing Scottish songs on their guitars and listening to the bagpipes into the wee hours. 

 

He loved colorful Hawaiian shirts, photography, coins, firearms, riding his motorcycle, watching Gunsmoke and the SF Giants games, grilling steak out by the swimming pool at sunset, Rombauer Chardonnay, and sharing wine and cheese with his many musical friends after open mic nights at the Ugly Mug and the Cork. He was a people person and had friends from all aspects of his life, hosting many pool parties and barbecues. He always jumped at the chance to make Nina and his family happy by spoiling them on their birthdays and at Christmas, tolerating the feeding of feral cats, wild birds, squirrels, skunks, deer, opossums, ducks, and racoons and ownership of horses (Fancy Nancy, Bobbie, and Blondie), dogs (Patches and Hooper), cats (Tiger and Bootsie), chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, and a parakeet. He tolerated being referred to as “Grandpa” to Robin’s dogs, Daisy, Buttercup, and Romeo while feeding them endless treats. He was known for sending birthday cards to everyone without fail.  

 

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, mother, father, stepfather, his wife, Nina Mae MacAngus, and his brother who died just one month before him, David Anthony Ray.  

 

He is survived by his children, Susan Ann Martin, Donald David MacAngus, Robin Lynn MacAngus, Nicole Margaret Rinaldi, his sister-in-law, Beverly Ray, as well as many grandchildren, great grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews.  

 

Don said in his Will, “I do not want a funeral or any services. Funerals are always sad occasions, and I do not want to put my family and friends through that.”  

 

Stay out of trouble, Dad… We love you.