THE well known retired Maybole businessman, Ronnie Faulds, died on Friday, August 12th 2005 after a sudden illness whilst on holiday with his wife and family in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca. Ronnie is survived by his wife Margaret, son Ian, daughter Joy and five grandsons. In his youth, Mr Faulds was a keen amateur footballer who played with several teams including Maybole Amateurs FC. He had a reputation for being a hard but fair player and was known in those days as 'Big T.I', a reference to the initials of his maternal grandfather, Thomas Inglis Smith, the proprietor of the St Cuthbert's Hotel in Maybole. After his schooling at Carrick Academy, Maybole, he trained for a time with Cowie and Torry Architects, Ayr, before joining the family building firm, James Faulds & Sons (Maybole) Limited, which was founded by his grandfather James Faulds in 1891.

His father, the late Thomas Faulds, took over the running of the business after the First World War and thereafter for many years it was carried on by Ronnie and his brothers Jim and Brian, till they all went their separate ways around 1984. The business carried on after that under the control of Ronnie, assisted by his son Ian, until it closed about four years ago. During its existence it provided important employment for the community and, at its peak, employed almost 100 people.

Ronnie was a keen sportsperson throughout his life and enjoyed badminton and swimming as well as football. However in his later years, his great interest was golf. He was a member of Turnberry Golf Club and in 2004 was made an honorary member of that Club in recognition of 50 years of membership. He will be sadly missed not only by his family but also by his fellow members at Turnberry who will remember him as a keen competitor and a larger than life character.