Dwight Ross Jr.

1936 - 2017

ROSS, Jr., Dwight Harrington Dwight Harrington Ross, Jr, of Atlanta, Georgia, passed away on March 22, 2017 at the age of 80. He had suffered from Dementia for several years. Dwight was born on November 28, 1936 at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in Atlanta attending R.L. Hope & E. Rivers elementary schools before moving to Miami, FL for his middle school years and then ending up in Savannah, Georgia for his high school years. Dwight moved back to Atlanta to attend both Georgia Tech and University of Georgia for a period of time before settling into the field of photography. He began working at the Atlanta Journal and Constitution as a staff photographer in 1958 and retired in 2000 after 42 years of service. Dwight was quite the adventurist when trying to capture the right photo while on assignment. He was known to climb in caves to cover a story on spelunking or climbing to the top of a tall TV antennae hundreds of feet in the air to capture the best view. Along with adventure, he also had the honor of photographing many famous people such as Maya Angelou, Jimmy Carter, Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen just to name a few. During his tenure at the AJC Dwight never met a stranger. His carefree, "style of his own" personality always led to many great stories both told by Dwight and told about Dwight. His photos live on via the internet when searching for Dwight Ross Jr AJC. Dwight loved traveling and trying new experiences. In his younger years he enjoyed Enduro motorcycle racing for many years. He tried other sports such as surfing, scuba diving, hang gliding, water skiing, snow skiing and sailing. He traveled domestically and internationally to Hawaii, Mexico, Guatemala, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Iceland and other parts of Europe while always experiencing his time there in the most local, non-tourist fashion. Dwight's main and steady love of the arts was in the area of opera. Dwight became an opera fan at the age of 18 after his father introduced opera to Dwight (or "Rusty" as his immediate family called him) while playing records. From that moment on he attended every opera that he could, never missing a performance of the Metropolitan Opera's seasonal tours to Atlanta and then becoming a season ticket holder of the Atlanta Civic Opera later renamed to the Atlanta Opera. Dwight enjoyed every season and every show immensely from his favorite front row seats. Dwight is survived by his only child, daughter Polly Ross Wallace (Todd); two grandchildren Mina and Corben Wallace; sister Dancy Ross Thomas; one niece and one nephew No service will take place at this time. A celebration of life will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in remembrance of Dwight Ross Jr. to the Atlanta Opera, 1575 Northside Dr. NW, Suite 350, Atlanta, GA 30318.