Colonel Lawrence C. Ross USA Retired

1937 - 2016

DUBLIN - Lawrence Ross was born in Lumber City, Pa. on Nov. 6, 1937. The son of a coal miner and the grandson of a family that homesteaded their farm in rural Pennsylvania, Lawrence learned very early the value of honest hard work, working on his uncle's dairy farm as a boy and then at the Clearfield Cheese Company in Clinton, Mo. as a young man.

Lawrence graduated from Clinton High School at 16, and was selected to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in the spring of 1959, married his sweetheart Nancy Camp in August, and began what would become a long and distinguished career as an officer in the U.S. Army and a life of a devoted husband and father.

His military career included overseas tours in Germany, Vietnam, and South Korea. Stateside, among many duties, he served as an instructor at USMA West Point, Commander of the 541st Maintenance Battalion at Fort Riley, Kan., and Post Commander of the Army Mechanics and Materials Research Center in Watertown, Mass. He earned his Master's Degree in Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Following his retirement from the Army in 1985, Lawrence and Nancy settled in Peterborough, where he became an active member in the local business and political community. For many years, Lawrence served Peterborough as Selectman, and continued on to represent the district in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

Lawrence's passions included his wife and family, his pets, fishing, advising entrepreneurs and small businesses, and teaming up with his wife Nancy to restore their centuries-old New England Colonial farmhouse to its former glory. His family will always be grateful for his leadership and for the opportunities in life that he provided for them.

Lawrence died peacefully on Mar. 21, 2016 in Beaufort, S.C. surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Nancy Ross of Dublin; his son, Douglas Ross and his wife, Linny and their children, Erin, Heather, Calvin, and Casey of Austin, Texas; his daughter, Elizabeth Ross and her children, Ross and Roxanne of Burlingame, Calif. his daughter, Cathryn Ross of Surry, N.H. his daughter, Jennifer Ross Cilley and her husband, Joshua and their children, Emerson and Camden of Bedford, N.H. and two sisters, Alta Beard of Lone Jack, Mo. and Marilyn Baldwin of Prior Lake, Minn.

He is preceded in death by his parents Wilbur and Nellie and siblings Beryl, Bill, Jim, Gerald, Roger, and Ruby.

A memorial will be held Apr. 30, 2016 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Monadnock Country Club in Peterborough. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his name to the Monadnock Humane Society, 101 W. Swanzey Road, Swanzey, N.H. 03446.