Dr. H. Eugene Ross

Dr. H. Eugene Ross was born February 26, 1930 outside Checotah, Oklahoma. It was during the Depression and his family was very poor, working as sharecroppers and living in a small, 4-room house on a farm.

During high school, Gene earned the rank of Eagle Scout and represented Oklahoma at the National 4-H Congress in Chicago two times. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University, a Master’s in Animal Science from Kansas State University and a PHD in Administration from the University of Wisconsin.

Gene met Mary Nell on a blind date to a rodeo and they married less than a year later. They were married 66 years!

Gene worked with purebred Angus show-cattle in Illinois in the summers during college and then managed the operation for three years while in the Naval Reserve. He worked as a County Extension Agent in Kansas and was State Director of the Extension Service at New Mexico State University for eight years. The job he most enjoyed was teaching graduate work at NMSU for eight years, prior to his retirement. He and Mary Nell owned and managed rental property in Las Cruces, NM and in the Dallas area.

The development of a personal Christian faith came slow, but with age, it became much, much stronger. Gene’s faith and his 66-year marriage to Mary Nell and his family, which included 3 lovely girls, were what he described as his greatest achievements.

Some of his hobbies included collecting coins, making silver jewelry, working on old clocks and watches and raising cattle (sometimes it was a job and sometimes it was a hobby).

He is preceded in death by his parents: Henry and Lettie Ross, his siblings: Lizzie Lou Palmer, Imo Fugit, and J.S. Ross, and his son-in-law: Jim Breslauer. He is survived by his wife, Mary Nell Ross, his daughters: Teresa Kristovich and husband Brook, Cindy Breslauer, and Dianna Bass and husband Brad, grandchildren: Lacey Savage, Tyler Savage and wife Michelle, Mariah Savage, Luke Savage, James Bass and wife Molly, Stephen Bass, Emma Breslauer and great-grandchildren: Callum Bass, Nolan Bass, and William Savage.