Mary Evelyn Ross

17 July 1922 - 4 September 2017

Under: Obituary

Mary Evelyn Ross, who resided in Charleston, South Carolina, at 2310 Furman Drive in Drayton on the Ashley, from 1968 to 2012, passed from this life at the age of 95 on September 4th, 2017, in Crossville, Tennessee, in the company of her daughter, Christine Arnold; her son-in-law, Ronald Arnold; and her grandchildren.

Mrs. Ross was preceded in death by her husband, Colonel John Ross, USMC; her son, Michael Terrance Ross; and grandson, Colin Patrick Ross.

Mary Evelyn Kane was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on July 17, 1922, where she experienced the Dust Bowl first hand.

Mary Evelyn Ross years later worked in the Department of War in Washington, D.C. during the Second World War where she met Sergeant John Donald Ross, USMC, a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater, who had been deployed shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. The couple was married in a military ceremony in El Centro, California, on June 5, 1944, a marriage with Colonel Ross that lasted 54 years.

Mrs. Ross worked as a secretary at the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Charleston, South Carolina, on King Street, just off Marion Square during the 1970's to support her son, Mark, at George Washington Law School, and her son, Steven, who studied medicine at MUSC.

Mrs. Mary Evelyn Ross later joined her husband in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for several years after his retirement from the USMC while he worked for Aramco. Mrs. Evelyn Ross worked in the National Commercial Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and later accompanied her husband and daughter across the length of Saudi Arabia where they vacationed on the Red Sea.

Mrs. Ross in her later years traveled through Western Europe with her husband while he taught graduate courses on various American military bases to active duty officers.

Mrs. Ross was an active walker throughout her adult life and was commonly seen enjoying a hike along the Ashley River.

Mary Evelyn Ross also volunteered at Middleton Gardens providing tours of the estate and grounds for over 25 years.

Mary Evelyn Ross leaves behind her sons, Mark Ross and Steven Ross; and her daughter, Christine Arnold; and grandchildren, Elena Arnold, Sarah Arnold, Ashley Arnold, Seth Arnold, Brendan Ross, Kathleen Ross, and Shannon Ross.

Mary Evelyn Ross is to be buried in the Beaufort National Cemetery by the side of her husband of 54 years, Colonel John D. Ross.

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