Ronald Wibur MacWillie was born on the 5th of August 1922 at Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  His parents where a John McWillie and Winnifred Annie Lowery.  The family where descendants of a William McWillie and a Helen Milne who had married in Botriphnie parish, Scotland on the 1st of May, 1832.  William had died in Scotland following which the mother Helen Milne McWillie immigrated to Montreal, Canada where she had family relatives.  While doing early research back in Scotland the church records and other documents listed the name as McWillie, however Canadian records listed the name as MacWillie.

 

 During the early 1930's economic condition were on the decline in Canada and John and Winnefred  and their three sons, Ronald, John, and Leslie, moved to Englewood, California in the United States. Ronald completed his education in Englewood.  They were to spend the rest of their lives in that area except for the occassional summer trip back to Montreal to visit relatives and for their father to look after hios business affairs as he still owned an apartment block in Montreal.  

 

Ronald joined the military during ww 11, and served in the pacific area.  Following his military service he returned to the Englewood area of California and was employeed in the trucking industry in California.  In December of 1946 he married Christine Pfenning who had a daughter Vereleen.  Christine and Ronald had a son Ronald Jr. 

 

In September of 1982 he left California and moved to the Cottonwood area of Arizona which he had always liked.  His wife Christine died in 1983.  Later on he recorded how in 1986 he went up to the indian country, sometimes called the four corners, were in his own words he met an old Indian Scout who introducted me to one of his beautiful daughters.  Three days later, I traded two sheep and a goat, and came back to cottonwood with a beautiful new young wife, whom I love very much.  My Indian now cuts wood, feeds the livestock, clears the ditches, and in fact, runs our farm.  My lovely wifes name is Rita.  Ubfortunately Ronald passed away in 2002.

 

Rita belonged to the Native Hopis Indian people of Arizona;   In the tiny world of there own on the three Mesas of the Arizona desert, the Hopi Indians have created and continue to maitain one of the most interesting and striking cultures of the North American continent.  They have a stable economy, a steadfast morality, and a pervading spirit that have not wavered in times of inflationary global strife or periods of national depression.

 

The Hopis have known the white man for centuries, and, although they do not argue with him, they are not particularly impressed with his "progress."  Ancient Hopi traditions and customs are as much alive today as they were in the centuries before white civilization had reached the rugged homeland of these people.  This adherence to apparently archaic beliefs and activities is rooted in the extraordinary common sense and wisdom of these desert dewellers.

 

During the course of McWillie family research the author had the opportunity to meet with both Ronald and Rita and came away with the feeling and knowledge of having meet with two of the finest people I have had the priviledge of meeting.