Just past two in the afternoon on April 11, 2015, Bill Ross passed away peacefully at home in his bed in a restful sleep surrounded by his beloved children.    

Bill Ross was born on December 5, 1923, in Niagara Falls, New York, to William and Ethel Ross. His father came to the States after graduating in engineering from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.  His mother was born in Columbia, South Carolina. 

As a boy, Bill was enamored with both the romance of the Wild West and the irresistible joy of aviation.  The family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when Bill’s father was recruited to the Ethyl Corporation and it was there at a young age that Bill was able to have flight instructions, experience solo flight, and meet pals and make friendships that would last a lifetime.

He was in prep school in Massachusetts when Pearl Harbor's bombing began World War II. He and his classmates wanted to join immediately, but were persuaded by their headmaster to graduate first.  The Army Air Corps was next where he trained in various single engine aircraft and loved flying and wanted to be a fighter pilot.  As the strategy of the war developed, however, the demand was for muti-engine bomber pilots for the anticipated need to directly attack Japan's mainland. He was nearing mission-ready status awaiting orders when the use of two nuclear weapons ended the war and saved many American airmen’s lives.

After the war he had enough of being away for a while and decided against college on the west coast in favor of studying engineering at LSU in Baton Rouge, and it was there he met a woman with a larger-than-life personality along with tremendous personal strength of character from her deep Catholic faith.  Felice Martin was a striking beauty then, and remained so for her entire life, and Bill was a goner.  Bill and Felice were married on July 2, 1949, and remained so until her passing on June 12, 2008. 

Felice was born in Louisiana but had been brought up by her parents, Bill and Lillian Martin, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and in the Dominican Republic where her father was in the sugar business. She was already multi-lingual and graduated from Louisiana State University at the age of nineteen.

Felice’s ability with languages was quite helpful when Bill began a career in the petro chemical business that took them to five continents and around the world twice, settling finally in Beaumont, Texas.

Bill always said that no matter how intellectually gifted or educated one is "everyone you meet knows a whole lot more about something than you do."

Bill has always been appreciated for his tremendous, dry sense of humor as well as his very loving and kind heart…one of the finest people anyone could ever know.  He has always had enormous love for his children and a special place in his heart for his grandchildren.

Bill is survived by his daughter, Erin McReynolds and her husband, Joe, of Alvin; sons, Michael Ross, of Beaumont; Rory Ross and his wife, Robin, of Carrollton; and John Ross and his wife, Stephanie, of Beaumont; and his grandchildren, Amy, Joseph, Kelsey, Erin, Grace, Lillian, and Carolyn; sister-in-law, Dahleen Bache, of Pass-a-Grille, Florida; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Mass for Mr. Ross will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., April 16, 2015, at St. Anne Catholic Church, 2715 Calder Avenue, Beaumont, under the direction of Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin, Beaumont.  A reception for family and friends will follow the Mass at St. Anne Parish Hall. A private family committal will be held at Broussard’s Crematorium, Beaumont.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Anne Catholic Church, Helping Hands and Hearts, P.O. Box 3429, Beaumont, Texas 77704.