Mary Nell Ross

Mary Nell Turley Ross, daughter of William Earl and Nell Moore Turley, was born September 7, 1929 in Ada, Oklahoma, where she was also raised. Mary Nell graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Home Economics from Oklahoma State University and then worked as a Kitchen Designer for the Gas Company.

Mary Nell loved a good romance, and her own life was a love story. She met Gene on a blind date to a rodeo and they married less than a year later on a snowy February day. Mary Nell said that when they came out of the chapel, the sun came out and huge snowflakes were falling in a magnificent scene!

They were married 66 years; and, as she said, not many people get to do that!

In their early years, Mary Nell was a homemaker, taking care of the three girls. The family lived in Salina, St. John and Manhattan, Kansas and then Madison, Wisconsin, where Gene got his doctorate. After another four years in Manhattan, Kansas, they moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico. In 1984, Mary Nell and Gene bought a small farm outside Checotah, Oklahoma, so Mary Nell could take care of her mother. Gene “commuted” from Las Cruces for a few years until he retired from NMSU.

They loved their years living on Lake Eufaula, and headed out on their boat for a few hours most days, weather permitting. In 1996, they moved to Carrollton to get better medical care for Grandmother Turley and to be closer to grandkids.

Mary Nell and Gene owned and managed rental property in Las Cruces, NM and in the Dallas area. Mary Nell did most of the accounting and management until they retired, though they both still joined in for property make-ready’s for several more years. Mary Nell was always good with numbers and dates. Gene always commented on what a great student Mary Nell was. Last year, she told us she was an average student. When asked about what Gene said, she laughed and said, “well, he wasn’t there, how would he know?”

Some of her hobbies included reading and painting. Mary Nell was studying under well-known New Mexico artist, Carl Cogar when she painted her tree series.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Gene Ross, her parents: Nell and Earl Turley, her brother: John Turley, and her sons-in-law: Jim Breslauer and Brook Kristovich. She is survived by her daughters: Teresa Kristovich, Cindy Breslauer and Dianna Bass and husband Brad, grandchildren: Lacey Savage, Tyler Savage and wife Michelle, Mariah Savage and partner Jason Lucero, Luke Savage, James Bass and wife Molly, Stephen Bass, Emma Breslauer and great-grandchildren: William, Avery, Luca, Diego, Owen, Callum, Nolan and June.