Ross Sterling Evans Jr.

Ross Sterling Evans Jr., of Austin, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the age of 76. He was born on Nov. 14,1949, in El Paso, where he grew up in the Upper Valley, a green farming belt created by the Rio Grande.

In age surrounded by four sisters, Ross helped them with their hobbies, crazy projects, horses and other pets. He was chiefly interested in debate, politics and later journalism. In high school he volunteered for Barry Goldwater.

Ross got his first job delivering The El Paso Times at age 14 to make enough money to buy his first sports car. The convertible helped him socially in high school, but the newspaper industry stuck with him throughout his life.

He graduated from Coronado High School at age 16 and attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. There, he worked part time running the elevator in one of the House of Representatives office buildings until one of his professors helped him get a job as copy boy at The Washington Star.

He was promoted rapidly to editorial assistant and then assistant national editor during the time of the Watergate hearings. Ross loved this job, and he worked at The Star for years alongside several Pulitzer Prize recipients until The Star folded in 1981.

Ross then worked for Congressional Quarterly and coincidentally bought one of the first personal computers ever sold. He branched out in journalism to help this publication enter a digital market.

Ross loved sailing, and for a time owned a sailboat, which he kept in Annapolis, Maryland. He crewed on a friend’s antique wooden sailboat to cross the Atlantic to Ireland.

A few years later, never having lost his love of Mexican food and alluring Texas women, Ross moved back west to his Texas roots.

In Austin he has worked at the Texas Workforce Commission for almost 25 years, where he remained passionate about software and accurate reporting.

Most of Ross’ free time was divided between family, church and following the news. He loved to debate politics late into the night with anyone who would take him on.

He was unflinchingly loyal to family. He visited El Paso frequently to support his mother and then his widowed father. He took every opportunity to attend family celebrations.

A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he volunteered many hours in service, including as a bishopric counselor and stake auditor. He volunteered in Salt Lake City to work with the Church as it tested and refined some of its record-keeping software. Most recently he was a member of the Great Hills Ward.

Ross is preceded in death by his parents, Ross Sr. and Betty Evans, and his younger sister, Carol, all of El Paso.

He is survived by three sisters, Rita Hoffman, of Cloverdale, California; Elaine Ladner, of Waveland, Mississippi; and Marilyn Taylor, of Oakland, California.

Family and friends are invited to attend a funeral service on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 10 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 8140 Racine Trail. Visitation with the family will begin at 9:15 at the church.

Ross will be interred the following Monday near El Paso at Memory Gardens of the Valley, Santa Teresa, New Mexico.

Services and care will be provided by Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills, Austin.