Ernest Osgood Ross Jr.

Ernest Osgood Ross Jr., 92, a native Houstonian, passed away peacefully on March 1, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. Born February 6, 1933 to Ernest Osgood Ross and Iris Erne Metzler Ross; sadly, Ernie’s mother died when he was 2 years old. He was primarily raised in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas during his formative years by his mother’s parents, Edwin Samuel Metzler and Maude Conklin Metzler.

Ernie’s exceptional work ethic dated back to age 9 when he had his first job as a grocery store stock boy and later delivered prescriptions for a drugstore. Ernie subsequently attended Sullivan High School in Chicago, IL but wasn’t keen of the cold weather so he headed back to Texas where he worked in a cotton gin and as a roughneck in the oil industry to put himself through college at Texas A&I College, Kingsville (now Texas A&M, Kingsville). There he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biology. Afterwards, he earned his LLB/JD at the University of Texas, Austin.

After graduating from law school, Ernie held several positions in the oil and gas industry and manufacturing, most notably as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Marathon Carey-McFall, a subsidiary of Marathon Manufacturing, that fabricated Bali Blinds and artificial Christmas trees. Ernie achieved extraordinary success leading the team through a turnaround situation. In his later years, he served as a legal and business consultant and was a small business owner with several partners whom he considered family.

Those who knew Ernie will miss all that made him one of a kind. A man of his word, wise, thoughtful and fair, he considered himself a “Student of life.” He valued time with family and friends. He was generous in all ways possible with one exception, he rarely shared a chocolate dessert with anyone, especially Sally’s chocolate pudding. To call him a chocolate lover would be an understatement. He had a great appreciation for music. He and Sally enjoyed season tickets to the Houston Symphony over many decades. His mastery of the Spanish language led to personal and business relationships that lasted a lifetime. Ernie got great pleasure planning wonderful and memorable vacations for his family. An avid traveler, voracious reader, one who solved the Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy puzzles well before the TV champion, he valued and treated people equally, loved learning about other cultures, and hiked the world with sweet Sally.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Ernest Osgood Ross and Iris Erne Metzler Ross, stepmother Mary Roberta Lee Ross, his maternal grandparents, Maude Conklin Metzler and Edwin Samuel Metzler, and his paternal grandparents, Carrie Schofield Ross and Gayton Sumner Ross.

He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Sally Ann Ross, and his daughters, Linda Sue Hill (Lee), Elisa Marie Ross Swanton (Buster), his son, Ernest Osgood Ross III (Hays Brown Thompson III), Sally’s daughters Betsy Porter and Laura Christina Ebady (Sherif), brothers Robert Lee Ross (June), Jerry Allen Ross (Carol Kulik), nephews Eric Ross and Mark Ross (Rebecca), grandchildren Amanda Lynne Swanton Mondini (Greyson), Nathaniel Ross Hill, Sophia Marie Swanton, great grandson Reece Edward Mondini, grandsons through marriage Tyler Jeffrey Hill (Kimmy) and their children Cameron Hill and Beverly Hill, Hunter Jacob Hill (Lauren), and granddaughters through marriage Amy Provost and Jane Provost.

Visitation will be held at Forest Park Lawndale, 6900 Lawndale Street, Houston, Texas from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, March 7, 2025, and a memorial service will be held at Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Avenue, Houston, TX on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 1 p.m. A private graveside service for the family will be held following the memorial service.

Dad and the family are forever grateful to dad’s physicians and their staff who successfully treated his chondrosarcoma dating back to 1996 and gave us an extra three decades of life together: Franco DeMonte MD at MD Anderson, Daniel Franklin MD in Houston and Norbert Liebsch MD, PhD at Mass General in Boston. In lieu of flowers and in memory of Ernest Osgood Ross Jr, contributions may be made to MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, TX 77210-4486 or www.mdanderson.org/gifts Designation: Annual Fund or to Mr. Ross’s Head and Neck doctor, Dr. Franco DeMonte Various Donor Fund.

Interment will be provided by Forest Park Lawndale, 713-928-5141. Memories and condolences may be shared below.