Ronald Macon Baygents

Ronald Macon Baygents, a journalist with nearly half a century of experience as a reporter and editor covering local, national and international news, died in hospice May 18 in Ocala, Fla., with his children, sister and partner by his side. He was 70. Born June 26, 1953, in Macon, Ga., Ron grew up in Georgia and Florida, graduating from Citrus High School in Inverness, Fla., in 1971.

As a child, he sang in gospel groups formed by his father and later developed his own, abiding interest in music, sparked by the Beatles, and learned to play drums and guitar. After graduating from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications in 1975, during a nationwide recession, Ron embarked on a road trip “out West.” He fell in love with California and later returned to the state, spending 14 years at the San Jose Mercury News as a reporter and editor on the State, Metro, National and Foreign desks during an era when the newspaper won two Pulitzer Prizes. Ron began his career as a reporter at The Stuart News and the Ocala-Star-Banner in Florida and The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C., winning statewide and regional awards for his work. He travelled to Plains, Ga., on Christmas Day 1977 to cover then-President Jimmy Carter for the Star-Banner as he answered reporters’ questions about the Middle East peace process, and returned to Plains several times in subsequent years to hear Carter speak. Returning to the East Coast from California in the late 1990s, Ron served as editor of The Hopewell News and managing editor of the Manassas Journal Messenger in Virginia. He finished out his career as Washington correspondent for the Kuwait News Agency, serving as interim bureau chief on several occasions. In Washington, he covered the White House, State Department and Pentagon. He attended and covered the G-7 Summit at Sea Island, Ga., in 2004 and the Democratic and Republican national conventions in 2008 and 2012. A press trip to Kosovo was another highlight of this time. Ron had a talent for spotting members of various presidential administrations out and about in Washington, at the grocery store, restaurants or on the bus, and engaging them in conversation. He hosted many politicos and newsmakers of the day at the National Press Club, where he was an active member for close to 20 years, chairing the Newsmakers Committee and serving on the Speakers and International Correspondents committees. A favorite was Rolling Stones keyboardist and environmentalist Chuck Leavell. A lifelong music lover and inveterate concertgoer, Ron had many entertaining tales to tell and an encyclopedic knowledge of the music catalog of the era, particularly classic rock. He was proud to have seen Gainesville native Tom Petty perform on the lawn at the University of Florida before his music career took off. Ron was a vocal supporter of the university’s athletic teams (Gators), and remained close to his UF fraternity brothers, as well as other lifelong friends. Enchanted by the natural world, he loved beaches, mountains, the Caribbean and the national parks, and enjoyed canoeing, water skiing, swimming and fishing in the freshwater springs of Florida across more than 50 years. He was a fan of the Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves baseball teams, and the Miami Dolphins football team, taking his children with him to many games and concerts and on trips and adventures.

Ron was deeply proud of his children – Sara Baygents (Marshall Richards), a riding coach and horse trainer in Leesburg, Va., and Cyrus Baygents, a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston – and always made an effort to be part of their lives. In 2022, Ron found his dream house on the Rainbow River in Marion County, Fla., and moved there with his partner Nancy Donaldson. In June 2023, they celebrated his 70th birthday on the river with family, friends and a musical performance by Steve Forbert, one of his favorite artists. In addition to his partner, children and their mothers (Linda Werfelman, Lucy Chumbley), survivors include his brother, Gerald Baygents (Kathy) of North Augusta, S.C.; sister, Irma Jean Roberts (Gerry) of Noosa, Queensland, Australia; and their families. He was preceded in death by his father, Eubert Macon Baygents, and mother, Labertice Jiachetti (Vic)