Miriam Elizabeth Ross was born to Margaret Owen Ross and Stanley Graham Ross on April 15, 1929 in Rawlins, Wyoming and succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 89. Although her given name was Miriam, most people knew her as Sally, a nickname given to her by her father. She was the eldest of three children, her brother Stanley Owen Ross preceded her in death in 2017 and she is survived by her baby sister, Mary Jane Ross Daniels and nieces and nephews who she considered to be her children.
Sally completed her early education through High School in Rawlins, Wyoming. While still in high school, Sally worked as a telephone operator to earn money for a college education. She graduated from Cornell College of Ames, Iowa with a bachelor’s degree and pursued a career in Journalism. She worked in South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and New Mexico at local and regional newspapers and publications. While living and working at the New Mexican in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the author Tony Hillerman was her editor and she met Georgia O’Keefe while sitting next to her at a cocktail party. She had a fine appreciation for the art community in Santa Fe and collected several fine pieces while she lived there. She aspired to return to Santa Fe at some point later in her life.
Wanting to make a difference in the lives of children, Sally returned to college and earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. She moved to Colorado and taught second and third grade in Arvada. After teaching elementary school for several years, Sally again returned to college at Loretto Heights College in Denver to get a middle school teaching certificate. She taught middle school students for two years and retired from teaching. During Sally’s teaching years she found a life-long friend in fellow teacher Billy Miller.
A desire to keep busy and return to journalism sent Sally to the Colorado Mountain Club where she had been a member since the early 1970’s. She was hired as the Editor of the member magazine Trail and Timberline, event scheduler and coordinator and writer for the member monthly newsletter. She was an avid walker and hiker and particularly enjoyed outings on Mount Evans in Colorado. She worked for the Mountain Club for about ten years before fully retiring from the workforce.
Sally considered herself a “Strong Democrat” and served as a volunteer for the Democratic Party during elections. She loved animals and adopted many dogs and cats over the years and also supported the Spay Neuter Feral Cat project in Arvada, CO. Sally enjoyed Rockies Baseball, reading, listening to jazz music, growing flowers and vegetables, photography and creative projects. She always had something to look forward to, whether it was a trip, joining a group, trying a new recipe, writing a story or poem, playing Pinochle or Bocce Ball or visiting family. Although she had macular degeneration and low vision, she enjoyed life to the fullest. After her diagnosis with Pancreatic Cancer, Sally realized there was a need for a cancer survivors group at Covenant Village so she organized a group called Can Survive which met regularly and provided information and support for other persons facing a cancer diagnosis. She was most proud of being a good listener and friend to everyone and Sally’s favorite career was writing and editing for small-town newspapers. Her latest writing assignments were for articles for the Village Post for Covenant Village in Westminster, Colorado where she resided until her death. She was a member of the United Methodist Church in Arvada and was a 20 year sponsor of her adopted family of Kim Diep and her son and Kim’s father Hoa Ngo who she considered family.
She is survived by her sister, Mary Jane Daniels, nieces Karen Ross Bennett, Valerie Ross Roberts, Jan Daniels Withrow, and Aimee Daniels (Poydack) and her nephews Dennis Ross, Rion Daniels and Darren Daniels, and all of their spouses and great nieces and nephews. Also surviving is her 95 year old cousin Peggy Ribbing of Longmont, Colorado, her good friend Billy Miller and all her many cherished friends.
In lieu of flowers, a donation to Angels With Paws (303-274-2264), American Cancer Society, or the Sally Ross Memorial Scholarship Fund (C/O Jan Withrow 408-892-0440) is something Sally would have appreciated.
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