Former businessman and avid sportsman/administrator Ralph “Bruggadung” Johnson has passed away.
He was 80 years old.
Johnson was one of the founders of Harris Paints and soon became a household name as the face of the company. He retired in 2009 but maintained a role as chairman.
Successful in business, Johnson also believed in giving back to the community.
“I believe that in life if you are fair and helpful, someday somebody will turn up when you are in a very disadvantaged position and be able to help you. That is why I think a good rule of life is to help in the community and to be generous,” he told The Nation when he retired.
Bruggadung, as he was generally known, attended Harrison College. He grew up in the Deacons/Westbury Road, St Michael area and was an avid sportsman.
He explained how he got the nickname in that same interview.
“It came from playing football at school, when you would kick the ball upfield and you would hear the sound ‘bruggadung’. It was onomatopoeia, that sound.
“I used to box at school and we would tell them we were going to put the bruggadung on them . . . . I was the Bruggadung and that nickname has stuck with me for life.”
Additionally, Johnson was a motorsport champion on the dirt track prior to the Bushy Park days. He was a water skiing champion and avid golfer, but soon became synonymous with yachting. His sailing craft bore the name Bruggadung.
Johnson was a former president of the then Barbados Squash Rackets Association, headed the regional squash body and was a long-standing first vice president of the Barbados Olympic Association.
He was also the first manager of The Merrymen and managed The Sandpebbles for a time.
Johnson leaves to mourn wife Isabell and other members of the family. (SAT)
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