LTC ROBERT E. ROSS To TAPS

LTC ROBERT E. ROSS passed away 4/2/2017.

Robert Edward Ross, Sr., was born on August 6, 1929, in Jackson, Mississippi, to Livia Mae Hedgepeth and Joseph Benjamin Ross. He grew up in Star and Bolton, Mississippi. He was sworn into the Army in 1948 by General Walter Krueger, the 6th Army Commander in World War II. 

He served a total of 24 years in the Army in Germany, Korea and all over the United States. He completed Officer Candidate School in 1952 and was commissioned into the Transportation Corps. He also served in Field Artillery and Finance Corps and retired in 1972 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel after 24 years of service including a tour in Vietnam. 

He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Mississippi State University in 1956 and his MBA from Harvard University in 1966. 

In 1969 he served as the Commander of the 92nd Finance Section in Cam Ranh, Vietnam. In 1971 he graduated from the Command and General Staff School. He then moved to Washington, D.C. and worked at the Pentagon as Executive Officer, U.S. Army Finance Systems Information Command. He retired in 1972 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He moved his family to Tupelo Mississippi where he worked as a comptroller for the Bank of Mississippi. The family moved to Columbus in 1977 where he worked for Universal Industries and the Columbus and Greenville Railroad before opening his own business consulting firm, Management Services Associates, which he continued until his retirement. 

His wife Idella and he were loyal members of First Baptist Church of Columbus from 1977 until their deaths. He was also a member of the Columbus Gideon Camp and the Columbus Rotary Club. Mr. Ross was an avid "bulldog fan".

In addition to his wife, and his parents, he was preceded in death by his sisters Vera Anderson and Era Carsley of Bolton; and brother Jimmy Ross of Blytheville, Arkansas. He was the last survivor of his siblings.