Alexander Francis Ross

Alex was born in Sacramento, California, of emigrant parents from eastern Russia who had become naturalized US citizens. He attended Catholic and then public schools. His first job was as an assistant on a survey crew that laid out US-80 over Donner Summit. He continued working for the State of California as a draftsman with the Division of Forestry and Division of Highways, where he was skilled in drawing beautiful freehand maps from engineering notes. He served in the U.S. Air Force and the California National Guard. In 1967 he enrolled at California State University-Sacramento to study art and art history. He met his future wife, Alta Catharine (Cathy, neé Matthias), they married and together they moved to Ithaca, NY, to continue their education. Alex completed his BA in art at SUNY-Cortland in 1972. He was hired as an instructor of visual design and photography by Elmira College and later, from 1978, by the Art Institute of Philadelphia. For two years while living in New York City, he worked for the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, setting up a photography laboratory for processing images to be returned from the Voyager Mission. He also maintained a small business in architectural and design photography while living in Philadelphia. He retired in 1994 when he and Cathy moved to State College, Pennsylvania, and then in December 2022 to College Station. His greatest pleasures were in home life, photography, and travel. He cared about his friends, students, and neighbors and was known for his quiet humor and his kindness to all of them.

His family at time of death include his wife Cathy and her cousins in California. His family acknowledges with deep gratitude the warm-hearted kindness and exceptional care of the nurses and caregivers and all other staff at Hudson Creek, Bryan, and Hospice Brazos Valley.

The family is planning a private service and celebration of life in Napa, California later this year.