Coach McFarland was one of the most respected, appreciated, and loved teachers/coaches of the 60’s decade. He taught printing and coached football. Head Coach, Dick Landis, had such confidence in him that he gave “Coach Mac” total control over the offense. When Horace “Hawk” English retired , Dick Landis moved up to the athletic director position and Mr. McFarland became the head football coach.
He was a “players coach” and although a strict disciplinarian, Ron inspired his student athletes to be all they could be and they loved him for it. Stivers Hall of Fame member, Larry Harris, recalls that Coach Mac would somehow come up with expenses if the player could not afford to travel.
Ron left Stivers after the 1973 school year for a job in the Collier County Florida school district. There he met up with a friend and colleague, Dan Scarcello, who had left Stivers to accept the principals’ job at Canterbury School, a private school in Fort Myers. There Coach Mac helped Mr. Scarcello start a football program with great success.
Coach McFarland passed away in Fort Myers, Florida in 2002. Surviving him was his wife, Mary Lee, and two sons, Bruce and Michael.