Angus A. MACNAUGHTON

1931 - 2021

ANGUS A. MacNAUGHTON Angus Athole MacNaughton, born July 15, 1931 in Montreal, to Athole Austin MacNaughton and Emily Kidder MacNaughton (née McLean) died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Danville, California, on the morning of May 19, 2021. He is survived by his loving children, A. Andrew MacNaughton and wife Julie, Gillian MacNaughton and partner Diane Frey, his brother Bruce and wife Ann, sister-in-law Judy Munro and husband Robert, nieces Hilary and Margaret, and nephews John, Ian, Sandy, Neil and James. Angus attended Roslyn Elementary School in Westmount, Lakefield College School in Ontario, Lower Canada College in Montreal and McGill University. He started working for McDonald, Currie and Co. (later Coopers & Lybrand) at age 18 and attended night school to become a Chartered Accountant. He then worked for Sogemines, Ltd, which later became Genstar Corporation, where he began as assistant treasurer and eventually moved up to be president and CEO, positions in which he and his partner Ross Turner served in alternate years. When Genstar Corporation was bought out in 1986, they started Genstar Investment Corporation, which they ran until 2020. Angus was a financier extraordinaire and a successful venture capitalist. In 2005, The Globe and Mail republished an article naming him one of "the ten greatest CEOs of all time." He served on the Boards of Barrick Gold Corporation, Canadian Pacific, Fairmont Hotels, Sunlife of Canada, Varian Semiconductor Associates Inc., Lakefield College School, the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Bay Area Council Boy Scouts of America and the San Ramon Medical Center. When not building empires, Angus devoted much of his time and energy to helping others, from his many philanthropic and charitable pursuits, to supporting aspiring businesspeople of all ages. In addition to his business successes, Angus was a topnotch downhill skier, excellent hockey player, avid golfer, and adventurous water skier (having skied on both a broom and an ironing board, as well as in sneakers). He ran a small circus for children at Lake Memphremagog with swimming, waterskiing, mini-bike riding and plane rides. Aside from money, Angus loved cars, boats, planes and fancy watches. His first love was a blue 1956 Lincoln Continental Convertible, known to all as Bertha, that he purchased after it was used to rob a bank. He went on to own a 1933 Packard, several Mercedes, and a Rolls Royce, but it was his Bentleys that he loved the most. As for boats, he had a cigarette, supercharged racers, Grews for waterskiing, and a 42-foot day cruiser to end the list. His first plane was a Cesna 172, AOA, then a 182RG, and the last one he flew on his own was a 210, 49ST. He was most proud, however, of the small boats he built in his basement at Owl's Head for his children. First, he made the Blue Binny, an open hulled rowboat, to which he later added a dagger board, mast step and rudder to turn it into a sailboat, and second, a 7-foot runabout, the Red Rebel, for his son. Angus also loved skiing in Klosters, (despite getting buried in an avalanche), and St Moritz with his dear friends Meinrad and Mariana Weber, and Heli-skiing with his son Andrew, and family friends John Pincott, Kyle Heron, and Hans Auer in the Whistler area, Bugaboos, Gothics, Mont Blanc, and the Annapurna and Everest regions of Nepal. Later in life, he enjoyed skiing at the Yellowstone Club in Montana. Angus loved to eat what he loved to eat. Mostly chocolate - chocolate soufflé, chocolate cake, chocolate bars, chocolate milkshakes - and lots of maple syrup. He also loved to play craps in Lake Tahoe, Monte Carlo and Las Vegas. Tossing a quarter at the dealer and yelling C and E was his signature move. He did that on every come out roll and if the dice bounced onto the floor. Later in life, he took his family and friends on amazing trips to far off places, including Bora Bora, Shanghai, Ho Chi Ming City, the Maldives, Zanzibar, Ushuaia, Antarctica, and the Galapagos, as well as more familiar haunts including Magog, Ogunquit and Portsmouth (for popovers). Angus also included in his family Françoise Jacot, his secretary for many, many years, followed by Laura Smith, Carmen Mora his household manager, and Francine Kring, his personal trainer. He will be dearly missed.