John Ross

John Daniel Ross

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" was his life standard, his religion, and his every day motto.

John Daniel Ross, 76, passed away Saturday, October 27, 2018 after being diagnosed with Stage four Prostate-Bone Cancer. He suffered a stroke at age 58, and this man limped through the rest of his life with a smile on his face, a friendly word to all who passed his way, and reached for a genuine hand shake to those whom he may have known or not. He never forgot a name and was always interested in what you had to say. He welcomed you into his home, soon learned the name of your favorite soda pop and that soda became a part of the magic refrigerator in the garage that was always full and never empty. He introduced SELTZER SODA POP to the Bonneville friends who visited his home. When you were having a conversation with him, you felt like you were the only one in the room and always left that conversation feeling like you were KING of the jungle. It didn't matter what age you were! He treated you with respect and warmth be it 3 or 103. He had a marvelous sense of  humor, but never at anyone else's expense. He just plain enjoyed life and people. He was a fan of all sports, especially the Seattle Mariners baseball team, the Seattle Seahawks football team, watching his kids and grandkids play their games, horse racing and a fun "Texas Hold Um" poker game. He rarely missed a dance performance, assembly, music concert or any event even though it meant struggling to maneuver around with his walker or ride his Jazzi.

John was born in Juno, Alaska, and was always proud to say his dad was 63 years old when he was born. His dad's first wife passed away and married his mom who was much younger. He remembers going to school in the dark and returning home from school in the dark watching out for bears on the way. The street he lived on in Juno was named after his dad. He was an only child and he and his dad had quite the life together. He and his mom and dad relocated when he was 10 years old to the Snoqualmie Valley in the state of Washington and he loved his youth. His mom taught school there and his dad was retired so WAHOO!  Dad had a lot of time to spend with him. John's favorite memory of his dad was every morning his dad would come into his bedroom and take his glasses from his night stand, then clean and shine them for the day.  He did this until he left home to attend college at the University of Washington where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and his Master of Arts in Educational Psychology. He later did Graduate work in Educational Administration.

On December 29, 1986, JOHN married Susan Garner Ward Ross “Susie” bringing into this union two daughters, Maygan Ross (Wayne - deceased) Wurzer and Caitlin Ross (Drew) Angeloff.  He gained three sons, Chris (Kelly) Ward, Curtis Ward (deceased), and Mark (Courtney) Ward and another daughter, Shelly Ward (Shane) Parkinson. The family grew into 15 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. His love and affection for HIS SUSIE  and  HER for HIM  made for a wonderful, fun, and happy life for everyone, and did he ever enjoy his family and loved each one of them in an unconditional  and personal way.  The sky was the limit for each one and ten popsicles were not too many for the grandchildren when they visited.

His professional life was his work, and his hobby. As a very young man, he taught special education and was then hired as an Administrative Grant Writer for the Highline School District in the Seattle area. He was a very intelligent and talented grant writer with an unbelievable vocabulary and the ability to pay attention to details. He wrote educational competitive grants and won 98% of the time. He was known nationwide for his work and received many national awards. Most of his work was in behalf of underprivileged children. It would take an entire page of the newspaper to list his accomplishments. When he settled in Utah,  he worked for Weber State upon arriving and wrote  the grant to fund the  Women's Equity Center, then moved to the Utah State Office of Education to assist in writing the State Core tests and then on to become State Title I Director.  He became The National Title I Secretary but his favorite forte was working with Senator Hatch to scratch a bill that would have taken money from Utah and the other small states. The bill would have put Title I money in the large states where there was more poverty. Utah would have lost millions of dollars. John retired from the Davis County School District as their grant writer. There is no way to give JOHN the credit he deserves, but that is his own fault because he never bragged. He would always say, "It was a great team effort".

So today we celebrate the life of a kind and most loved gentleman; one who made life better for thousands of kids, teachers, and family. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, November 3, 2018 at 1 p.m. at Lindquist Weber State Alumni Center, 1235 East, 4100 South, Ogden. Parking and open doors are available on the right side and in back of the Alumni Center. Friends may visit with the family on Saturday from 12 to l p.m. at the center. A gathering will be held following the service; sugar cookies (John's favorite with extra frosting) and pina colada slush. Services entrusted to Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your neighborhood school in honor of John.