Bruce was born to Donald Lincoln Ross and Bessie May Ross (née Merdian) in Tacoma, Washington. He met his future wife, Marjorie Williams, while attending the University of Washington (B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1955). He and Marjorie were married on August 23, 1955 in a double wedding with Marjorie's brother Rod and her best friend Annette. Bruce and Marjorie settled in West Seattle where they raised their three children.
From a young age Bruce was interested in electronics. As a teenager his passion was ham radio. He learned Morse code and got his ham radio license when he was still in high school. He worked at KUOW when he was in college at the University of Washington. He was always a tinkerer and could fix anything. He could be counted on to solve diagnostic problems with almost anything of an electrical or mechanical nature. Growing up with Dad in the house we never called a repair man to fix anything. Whether it was the TV, the stove, or the family car, Dad fixed it himself. We grew up thinking that's what everyone did but, as we got older, we realized how special his gift was. He was always generous with his time. We could always rely on him to come to the rescue when we had car trouble, or repair a broken furnace, a guitar amplifier, a wind-up toy, just about anything... he'd analyze it and figure out what was wrong and be able to fix it. He would even spend hours repairing things that belonged to neighbors and neighborhood kids. He liked the challenge and never turned anyone down who came to him with a problem.
Bruce was an inventor and designer of electronics and a self-taught
computer programmer. In his mid-60s he started a new profession as a
patent researcher. Based on his experience applying for patents for his own inventions, he began offering his services to clients to submit and secure patents of their own with his company Patent Research Engineering. He especially enjoyed researching the historical patents that pertained to his client's inventions.
Bruce is survived by his sister Louise Poppleton, his wife Marjorie,
children Christine Cook (Mark), Daniel Ross, and Joseph Ross (Laura), and 6 beloved grandchildren (Gregory, Scott, Beatrice, Lincoln, Augustin, Wilder).
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.butterworthfuneralhome.com for the Ross family.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18