According to his widow, Gayle Hamby Winston, she moved to California from New York City after they were married but eventually both moved back to New York City, where Gayle had been involved in theater productions and major political fund raising for the Kennedy dynasty for several years. Ron would fly to Los Angeles for his work as a film and television director and spent much time there. He was on his way to Los Angeles International Airport in March of 1973 to catch a flight for location scouting for a new film when he got caught in traffic. Once he arrived at the airport, he was rushing to catch his plane when he suffered a fatal heart attack. Gayle soon returned to her native North Carolina mountains and became an award-winning North Carolina restaurateur.
