Shepley L. Ross

BARRINGTON - Shepley L. Ross, 87, of Barrington, died Monday, October 12, 2015. He was the only child of his dear parents, the late Owen and Ara (Thing) Ross of North Shapleigh, Maine.

He graduated from Boston University with A.B., A.M., and Ph.D. degrees. He received his doctorate in mathematics in 1953.

He was the husband of Virginia Rivinius, and they were married in Cambridge, Mass., in August 1954. They celebrated 60 years of marriage prior to her passing in 2014.

Mr. Ross taught mathematics at Boston University and Northeastern University before coming to the University of New Hampshire, where he taught from 1955 until he retired in 1989. He was the author of the textbooks "Differential Equations", and a shorter version, "Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations". They were among the better-selling texts in their field for many years.

Mr. Ross was an avid collector of generally useless "stuff", and his hobbies were collecting, music, gardening, and travel. He and his wife visited 49 states, most Canadian provinces, and over 25 countries in Europe, Central America and the Caribbean Islands. Their travels included many national parks and cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Mr. Ross was a Christian believer and attended Durham Evangelical Church.

Mr. Ross was predeceased by his wife, Virginia, and their son William, both of whom he loved dearly. He is survived by son Shepley L. Ross, II, known as "Chip", and Chip's wife Karen, of Auburn, Maine; daughter Judith Frase and her husband Stephen of Strafford; daughter Karen Harton and her husband Thomas of Barnstead; and Gwen Ross of Rochester. He loved all of them. He also leaves his grandchildren Trisha Anderson, Bethany Ross, Katie Freeze, Michael Frase, Nicole Harton, Sarah Ebner, Peter Frase, April LaRoche, Joshua Frase, Corey Ross, Stevie Frase, and great grandchildren Aria Anderson and Marvel LaRoche. He loved them too. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Richard Rivinius and his wife June of North Carolina, his sister-in-law Shirley Rivinius of California, a number of nieces, nephews and cousins and a few special friends.

SERVICES: At Mr. Ross' specific request, there will be no public services, services of remembrance, or flowers. A very short family-only graveside service will be held at a later date. He requested that any remembrance donations be made to Durham Evangelical Church for Christian missionary work. To sign our online guestbook, please go to www.purdyfuneralservice.com