John William Ross, 86
John William Ross, age 86 of Fredericksburg, died Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at his home.
A private family funeral was at 2 p.m. Friday, April 10, 2020, at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton with the Rev. Ronnie Koch officiating. Interment followed at Rose Hill Cemetery in Fredericksburg.
John’s funeral can be viewed via the Hugeback-Johnson Facebook page.
In lieu of flowers, please direct donations to St Johns Lutheran Church in Nashua, St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg or AmVets Post 90 in Fredericksburg.
John Ross was born on Sept. 29, 1933, to Hans and Elsie (Griesert) Ross on a farm near Fredericksburg where he grew up and began a lifetime of farming.
John attended St Paul’s Lutheran parochial school through the eighth grade before moving on to Fredericksburg High School, where he graduated in the class of 1952.
After graduation, John served his country for two years in the U.S. Army, part of which he spent with the American forces in Korea before being honorably discharged in 1955.
On Nov. 13, 1955, he married Leitha Brandenburg at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg, and the couple began a long partnership dairy and crop farming, first near Fredericksburg, and then on their own farm in Ionia. They welcomed their three children — Debra, Richard, and David.
John’s children remember growing up with a father who knew the value of hard work and dedication; after all, a dairy farm is a seven-day-a-week, 365-days-a-year job. Throw in the crop farming, and it was a busy farm. But their father also was very supportive of their activities, and he loved coaching his daughter and her friends on the Richland Happy Hearts 4-H softball team, and watching each of his children in their respective sports (basketball, softball, baseball, and football). Special family memories were made on fishing trips to Minnesota.
John and Leitha loved playing cards — mostly “500” and “Euchre” — with their card clubs and their family. They were highly competitive when it came to cards and they passed on a family tradition to their children and grandchildren. In later years, John and Leitha camped — first at Hampton and then in Clermont.
In 1998, the couple retired, sold their farm and moved into Fredericksburg, but John continued to drive a milk truck for another four years before retiring for good.
Meanwhile, he was a supportive and loving grandfather who would drive many miles to attend his grandchildren’s sporting and musical events, and he was still watching great-grandchildren’s events until last summer.
John had a lifelong love for sports, especially baseball. In his younger years, he played town-team ball, and he was a big fan of the Minnesota Twins. Two of his children, Debra and Rich, will tell you he was “mostly” a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes, although the family’s Iowa State grad, David, will tell you he did his best to turn Dad into a Cyclones’ fan.
In 2014, John lost the love of his life when his wife of almost 59 years passed away, and although Leitha’s death took a toll on him, he continued to live at home and, with the help of his children and his brother Harold, took care of himself.
John was community minded. During his life, he served as the president of the St. John’s Lutheran Church Council in Nashua, the president of the Nashua School Board, and as the Fredericksburg Farmers Cooperative president. He was honored to be named the Grand Dairyman at Fredericksburg’s annual Dairy Days celebration in 2007, and he was a proud member of the Amvets Post 90.
For years, Leitha worked at the Chickasaw County Recorder’s Office and she was twice elected to the county recorder post. John and Leitha had an interest in politics, and when John retired, he worked for years as an election poll watcher.
John was a strong-willed, hard-working man, some might even say stubborn, and he passed away on his own terms — in his own home on his own time. He was a strong role model and we will miss him. We are comforted that he is now reunited with Leitha.
John is survived by two sons, Richard (Jill) Ross of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, and David (Sharon) Ross of Mankato, Minnesota; one daughter, Debra (Mike) Stastny of Nashua; six grandchildren, Jamie Stastny, Jessica Stastny-Hall (Jason Hall), Will Ross, Paul Ross, Katie Ross (Joe Kukulski), and Emily (Nick) King; three great-grandchildren, Regean Tobin, Mykah Hall and Kennedy Pagel; three brothers, Robert (Pat) Ross of Fredericksburg, Carl Ross of Charles City, and Harold (Sheryl) Ross of Fredericksburg; one sister, Margaret (Art) Roberts of Dunkerton; two sister-in-laws, Virginia Conklin of West Union, and Darlene Steege of Fredericksburg; a brother-in-law Paul Klotz, Cedar Falls; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Leitha in 2014; sister-in-law, Ann Ross, and on his wife’s side several more sister-in-laws and brother-in-laws; and two nephews.
