Ross Carter Browning

Ross Carter Browning, of Laton, California, was born at home in Detroit, Michigan on June 1, 1938. His life was invigorated by constant curiosity. The very last thing he wanted to do was to leave this life, which was the very last thing he did, departing peacefully on July 28, 2020 in Fresno, California with his beloved wife, Phyllis by his side and giving safe passage.

He is deeply missed by his surviving family including wife, Phyllis, daughters Kelly Winell, Cindy Browning, and son and daughter-in-law Eric and Ann-Marie Nelson, brothers-in-law Dewey Morrison, Alfred Morrison, grandchildren Skyler Browning-Doorn, Colby Browning-Doorn, Spencer Winell, Christian Nelson, Cole Nelson and nephews, Scott Browning, Rick, Randal, Mitchell, Ryan and Wayne Morrison, and many more.

Ross was always inquisitive and bright. As a little boy he already knew that he was interested in aviation. He spent his time making extremely light weight balsa wood airplanes. There are unconfirmed stories of Ross capturing live house flies, suspending their lives by placing them in the freezer briefly, gluing their bodies to the plane and then using the flies to fly his planes around when they thawed out. We regret that we never asked him where in the world he got this idea not to mention how he captured flies in the first place. In any case, he went on to get his own pilots license at the age of 16 and graduated from Aero Mechanics High School in Detroit. After high school, he joined the army and served as a helicopter mechanic in Germany. He studied and graduated from Northrup University with a degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. Basically, Ross was a rocket scientist but his love of socializing and his gift of gab made engineering too solitary for his true interests. He was able to combine his love of schmoozing and his love of the technical aspects of things moving through the sky by receiving an MBA from UCLA and becoming a sales executive for Airbus Industries. He sold commercial airplanes to major airlines, a career he truly enjoyed. Later, he also worked as a Senior Engineer at GE Nuclear Energy, and still later taught technology to seniors. In recent years with more reasons to visit various doctors, he tinkered with all of the medical equipment and probably would have enjoyed a career as a bioengineer if he was starting out now.

Ross is often remembered for his sense of humor, playfulness and outgoing personality. He was known for being charmingly teasing and often bestowed nicknames. He elicited peels of laughter from his great nieces, Sonja, Katja, and Anja whom he always called the “Yah Yah Girls”, referring to them playfully as Yah Yah-1, Yah Yah-2 and Yah Yah-3.

He loved being a grandfather! He relished his yearly trips to Disneyland and camping and opportunities to attend Red Tail Hawk events with his two grandsons Christian and Cole. Though his other grandchildren were on the East coast, he kept in touch and would send them articles and points of interest about astronomy or jazz music. He played the upright bass when he was in high school and we assume that that is where he picked up his habit of humming bass notes almost all the time. When asked what he was humming he would say that he was unaware that he had been humming, so the tune he hummed nearly constantly was never discovered.

Ross was a perfectionist which came in handy with his endless tinkering and puttering and handy-helping as well as during his creative bursts. He built his daughters a TV and a guitar amplifier and the first video game any of them had seen. If one of the kids wanted to dress as Frankenstein at Halloween, Ross’ perfectionism and attention to detail would create a transformation. Perfectionism cuts both ways however when paired with an intolerance for the things that cannot be controlled. This was a circumstance that Ross found endlessly frustrating and could hardly bear, mostly due to his sincere desire to be helpful.

He was a full participant in life and was an active member of the local citizen group CCHSRA (Citizens for California High Speed Rail Accountability) Committee and the local TAA Astronomy Club. He enjoyed books, movies, wine, the outdoors, plays, and meeting people. He was always learning something new wherever he went. He donated blood platelets every two weeks for many years.

He especially enjoyed his time with his wife Phyllis. The two were married on February 29, 1992 and she was his constant companion, “wing man”, partner and bestie. Ross was spoiled by her cooking and her occasional indulgence in his spontaneous requests for her baking, especially her pies. He was well cared for and the two had a beautiful life together. Ross was practical and most likely would have said that although he would have liked to live longer, it was a great life, not too bad a passing and that at 82, you can’t ask for a lot more. Because of the Coronavirus, there will be no funeral or celebration of his life at this time.