Richard Ross

Richard “Whitey” Ross, 80, of West Des Moines, formerly of Wellsburg, Iowa passed away on Sunday, January 17, 2010 at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. Funeral services will be held on Friday, January 22, 2010 11:30 a.m. at the Wellsburg Reformed Church in Wellsburg, IA with Pastor Todd Rempe officiating. Visitation will be on Friday, January 22 from 9:30 a.m. until time of the funeral service at 11:30 a.m. at the Wellsburg Reformed Church in Wellsburg. Interment will be at a later date.

Whitey was born Richard Ross to his parents Reike and Grace (Geerdes)  Ross on August 8, 1929, in Wellsburg. He graduated from Wellsburg High School and was married to his wife Ardis (Gronewold) Ross on September 16, 1951 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa.

After high school he worked for his uncle John Ross in road construction. Then, Whitey was in the partnership known as Triple R Construction. Whitey served his country from 1951 to 1953 at the time of the Korean War.

In 1965, he started work for Fisher Controls in Marshalltown, IA and worked there until his retirement in 1987.

After his retirement, Whitey found more time for his true passion, which was  singing. He sang at his church, Wellsburg Reformed Church for many years. He also belonged to the church quartet known as Friends Quartet and served as an elder and deacon. He loved to bicycle and play golf with his wife Ardy. Whitey was an avid Chicago Cubs and Iowa Hawkeye fan. He was a life long Wellsburg resident. He and Ardy moved to West Des Moines in 2002 where he became a member of the Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines.

Whitey is survived by his wife Ardy Ross, of West Des Moines,IA; his children Jani (Mel) Van Deest, of Clive, IA and Doug (LeaAnn) of Mount Horeb, WI; his grandchildren Season (Jason) Kent, Maddie and Carly Ross; his sister Esther Kasha of Naperville, IL and brother Willard Ross of Grundy Center, IA. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister Grace Maas.