James Robert Ross
James Robert Ross of Lawrence, Mass., died peacefully Sunday, November 1, 2020, after a brief illness. He was born in Waynesburg to the late Robert Ross and Mildred Johnson Ross.
“Bobby” grew up on a farm, in the “hired hand’s house.” There were two barns, a stream, a cemetery and a large woods to play in. Apple, cherry, and plum trees. His sister, Connie, described him as the family favorite.
James graduated from Trinity High School in Washington. His nickname on the high school wrestling team was “crusher.”
He served in the U. S. Marine Corps, worked for Phillips Company, and then was an engineer for 40 years at the Raytheon Missile & Systems Division.
During his early years at Raytheon, he worked in its offices in Chelmsford, Mass., El Paso, Texas, and Huntsville, Ala. Later he traveled the world for Raytheon, teaching electronics to staff as far away as the Middle East.
James enjoyed practical jokes and parties. In the late 1950s, he put a television in a window, facing into the yard, and invited his Huntsville neighbors to come to a walk-in (rather than a drive-in) “movie.”
James eagerly embraced technology. In the 1950s, when his television image was poor, he opened its back, unplugged and carried handfuls of tubes to the local drugstore. He tested each and replaced those that were defective. James liked fast cars, from the tiny blue 2-seater Triumph he bought in 1960, to the lovely golden Benz of his later years.
Before most of us realized its potential, James conducted research using the internet and used email to communicate with his family. He compiled an extensive family genealogy, gathering stories of ancestors on this continent from before the 1776 American War of Independence.
After retirement, James volunteered in the City of Lawrence. He was a longtime leader in the Prospect Hill/Back Bay Neighborhood Association, supported Community Policing, spent two days each week at local schools as part of the Retired School Volunteer Association, engineers and scientists helping middle-schoolers with Math and Science. He was president of the Friends of the Lawrence Public Library and started Lawrence Cable Access Television. He was seen throughout the city wearing his beloved Stetson hat, filming Lawrence events.
In addition to his parents, James was preceded in death by his first wife, Helen Delores Watters Ross Cowley Sieglaff Welch, and by a second wife.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Arlene A. Genna Ross; by his twin sisters, Connie Ross of Ohio, and Bonnie Ross VanOrden and husband John Van Orden of West Virginia; five daughters, Debra Lauren Ross of Austin, Texas, Robin Diane Cosgrove of Burnet, Texas, Elizabeth Lynn Ross, also of Austin, Meredeth Crystal Ross Valdez of East Bernard, Texas, and Desiree Volle of Missouri City, Texas; his son, James Robert Ross, Jr. of Dallas, Texas; his grandchildren, Matthew Ross, Eamon Ross White, Abbey Shumacher, Geneva Rose White, Kevin Ross of Las Cruces, N.M., Aurora Coletti, Sierra Coletti, Kristen Volle and Kaylee Volle; and two great-grandchildren, Chandler Ross and Presley Ross.