Yvonne "Skipper" Ross

Yvonne Annette (née LaGesse) Ross, 86, peacefully went home to our Lord on Tuesday, December 3rd, surrounded by family at Mount St. Francis Nursing Home in Colorado Springs, CO. Yvonne was born in Plainville, KS on January 31, 1933 to Jake and Josephine (née Catudal) LaGesse. The youngest of five children, she was the last surviving of her siblings. After high school, Yvonne attended Marymount College in Salina, KS, receiving her RN diploma. Yvonne worked in nursing for more than 30 years.

Yvonne married Fred C. “Fritz” Ross, Jr. on November 24, 1955 in Hays, KS. They grew up only 30 miles apart. This blessed union brought five children into the world, and two unborn babies who await her with Fritz in Paradise. After living in Manhattan, KS while Fritz finished school at K-State, the couple moved to Kansas City, MO until 1967, when they moved to Boulder, CO. The family lived in Boulder until 1996, when they purchased a small rural property east of Colorado Springs, in Falcon, CO. Fritz went home to the Lord in 1998 after a short battle with cancer.

In 2012, the family property was sold to the Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs. It was their wish that one day at least part of the 35-acre property would be used to build a Catholic church. That dream was fulfilled in 2017 when the barn was converted into the Church. The two houses serve as the Ministry Center and the rectory for the pastor. Fittingly, Yvonne’s funeral Mass will be the first celebrated in the new church.

Yvonne dedicated her life to our Lord and her family. She dearly loved and doted on her children and grandchildren. She had a beautiful singing voice and was an active member of the choir while at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Boulder, CO for many years. Wildflowers and daisies, playing bridge, sewing and playing the piano were among her favorite things.

Yvonne was proceeded in death by her two unborn babies, her husband Fritz, her parents and siblings and a great-grandchild. She is survived by her children Anne (Buddy), Stan (Reiza), John, Doug (Linda) and Kathy, thirteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A Holy Rosary will be said for Yvonne at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Colorado Springs on Monday, December 9 at 6:30 p.m. A funeral Mass for the repose of her soul will be celebrated on Tuesday, December 10 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Falcon, CO. She will be buried with Fritz at Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Boulder, CO in a family ceremony at a later date. Those who wish can make a donation in her memory to St. Benedict Parish or Pikes Peak Citizens for Life.