Richard Everett Ross

1932 - 2017

Professor Emeritus Richard Everett Ross died Jan. 2 at home with his family at his side.

There will be a memorial ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday, April 28, at Oregon State University in Room 211 of the Memorial Union. A military ceremony was held at Willamette National Cemetery on March 14.

Dick was born in Trenton, Missouri, in 1932. As a young boy, he traveled with his parents, uncles and aunts throughout the country as the men looked for construction work. He joined the Navy at the age of 17 and served in the Pacific throughout the Korean War. Upon his return, he became an ironworker and then entered college under the GI Bill.  He received his Ph.D. in archaeology from Washington State University. 

He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Kathryn Vance; three children from his first marriage to Barbara Ross; three stepsons, Robert, Greg and James Tackett; sister Barbara; several cousins; and 11 grandchildren. He was especially proud of his intelligent, adventuresome, and socially and environmentally conscious children, Jennifer Sandhu, Serena Jaspera and John Craig Ross.

During some 30 years at Oregon State, Dick taught anthropology and archaeology and supervised students during many summers of archaeological field training. He conducted archaeological surveys in Alaska, Texas, California, Utah, Arizona, Oregon and Micronesia.  His primary focus, however, was on Native American peoples living along the Oregon Coast and the cultures that thrived for more than 10,000 years along the rivers of southern Oregon.  

He was well known for his collaborations with contemporary Native American tribes.  He encouraged Native Americans to enroll in the anthropology program at Oregon State; many of his students returned to their tribes to work as resource managers. Along with Esther Stutzman of the Kalapuya, he created an organization dedicated to improving the relations between archaeologists and native peoples. They established a yearly conference (Sacred Lands) where tribes and scientists could share their knowledge and perspectives. As a result of their work and that of others who joined them, Oregon became a model of cooperation among archaeologists, tribes, and the state.

Dick was a dedicated environmentalist and headed to the outdoors whenever he could, traveling to many countries - on the back of a motorcycle in Thailand, on a camel in Mongolia, on a bicycle in Ireland. He kayaked down the Yukon, finished the 1st Bike Oregon, climbed mountains in Scotland, and walked the Oregon portion of the Pacific Crest Trail with his son, John.  He and Kathryn were in Budapest on 9/11 and in Australia at outset of the invasion of Iraq, gaining a unique perspective on both events.  For five weeks they drove Dick's old diesel truck through the Southwest, exploring as many Native American communities and sites as they could, and later spent six weeks traveling by train around the United States.  He was an avid woodworker and landscaper and always an interesting companion. We shall miss him and his optimism and enthusiasm very much. 

Contributions may be made in Dick's name to the Oregon State University Foundation, Anthropology Excellence Fund.