Dr. Thomas E. Ross

Dr. Thomas Edgar Ross, 83, died June 1, 2005, at the home of his daughter, Betsy, in Durham, North Carolina.
Dr. Ross was born December 23, 1921 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the son of Willis Rushton Ross and Josephine Smith Ross.
Dr. Ross served during World War II in the Air Corps as a weather expert behind the frontlines. He mustered out of the military on September 30, 1945 as a corporal, with one Silver Star (the equivalent of Five Bronze Stars) as well as one Bronze Star for heroic acts and service in six fields of battle.
In 1945, Dr. Ross expanded upon his college degree from Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia by entering the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis. There he met his wife, Harriet Herron Ross, who was a fellow student. Both Dr. Ross and his wife earned doctorates in optometry. Dr. Tom Ross and Dr. Harriet Ross set up a practice together in Elkins, West Virginia, where they were partners until they started a family. After practicing optometry in West Virginia for several years, Dr. Ross decided to change professions. With an established family of four children (Carolyn, Martha, Nancy and Tom) and with an expected fifth child (Jim), Dr. Ross andhis wife, Moved to Memphis where Dr. Ross, in 1956, entered the University of Tennessee Medical School. He obtained his doctorate in medicine and so distinguished himself as a medical student and intern that he was asked to teach at the medical school. Instead, in 1960, Dr. Ross chose to locate in Rockingham, North Carolina and established a general practice with his partner, Dr. Phillip White. His sixth child, Betsy was born in Rockingham. Dr. Ross was a life-long student, as he continued to refine his medical knowledge by obtaining a specialty in family practice as a charter diplomat of the American Academy of Family Practitioners, a status which he re-certified every seven years through comprehensive exams.
In addition to an active medical practice and his family commitments, Dr. Ross served the community in many capacities. He served several times as medical Chief of Staff of Richmond Memorial Hospital, and also served that institution as a multi-term member of the Board of Trustees.
He also was a member of the First Baptist Church where for years he taught adult bible studies and served as a deacon for 25 years. Dr. Ross supported the Leath Memorial Library and served as a multi-term members of the Richmond County Library Board of Trustees. He was a member of the Executive Board of local chapter of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers). He also was a member of the Rotary CLub and the Rockingham Masonic Lodge.
Dr. Tom Ross was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Dr. Harriet Herron Ross.
He is survived by his children, Carolyn Ross of Pensacola, Florida, Martha Ross Thomas of Jackson, Mississippi, Nancy Ross Williams of Romney, West Virginia, Thomas Herron Ross of Durham, James Grooms Ross of Chapel Hill, and Betsy Ross Sullivan of Durham; his sisters, Betsy Ross Jarvis and Grace Ross Brandis, and brother, Norman Ross.
Funeral services, with Masonic rites, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 4, 2005 at the First Baptist Church, Rockingham, North Carolina, with Rev. David Phillips and Roy Herron officiating. A graveside ceremony and entombment will follow at the Eastside Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. on Friday evening, June 3, 2005 at the Watson-King Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Rockingham.