| HIST |
of Sumter, South Carolina
GEORGE W. ROSS
Posted Sunday, August 14, 2016 6:00 am
George W. Ross, 95, died Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, at 5:50 a.m. at Palmetto Health Tuomey with his wife and daughter at his bedside.
Born in Sumter County on Jan. 24, 1921, he was a son of the late Oscar P. Ross and Nolia Collins Ross. He was married to Mae Allene Griffin Ross.
Mr. Ross was a very valuable employee of Sumter Machinery Co. for 53 years.
He rewound motors of all types, from two inches to more than six feet in diameter. He was often called upon to teach the skill to newcomers.
His hobbies included keeping an immaculate house and yard; he was very proud of his beautiful, hand-plowed vegetable garden every year.
He was also an accomplished gunsmith, repairing all sorts of firearms for friends and acquaintances; he could even build firearms from scratch, from a very tiny firing pin to a shiny wooden stock.
His interest in guns came from his love of old movies, especially westerns - the Buck Jones, Tim McCoy type. His heroes were Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He knew all of their names, even their horses' names.
Besides his parents, Mr. Ross, the last sibling, was preceded in death by his brother, Harry Johnson; and his sisters Nell Windham, Ola Anderson and Anna Geddings; and also by a great-grandson, James Austin Mathis.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Linda Ross Mathis Myers and husband, J.T., of Sumter; his grandson, James E. Mathis Jr., and wife, Wendy, of Birmingham, Alabama; his great-grandchildren, Cassia Mathis and Callie Mathis of Decatur, Alabama, and Sean Mathis of Birmingham, Alabama; and a number of nieces and nephews. Two special friends who will miss him are his beloved cats, Agnes and Isabel.
Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in the chapel of Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home with the Rev. Greg Pressley officiating. Burial will follow in Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 5 until 7 p.m. on Monday at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Keepers of the Wild, P.O. Box 9169, Pueblo, CO 81008; Habitat for Horses, P.O. Box 3767, Houston, TX 77253; Noah's Lost Ark, P.O. Box 1967, Youngstown, OH 44506; or Animals' Angels, P.O. Box 1845, Merrifield, VA 22116.
Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com.
Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386. [2, 3, 8] |
1921 - 2016 (95 years)
