Richard “Rick” Ross, our beloved husband, father, brother, and friend, who at 74 years of age has lost his life here on earth to an ugly thing called cancer. He valiantly struggled for almost 2 years and was determined to beat it. He lost his battle on Aug. 6, 2024, at home with his wife Carol by his side.
Rick was born Nov. 22, 1949, to Helen Mae (Johnston) Ross and Norman C. Ross in Longview, Washington.
The family moved to Pacific Beach when he was in the second grade. Rick grew up there where his father and uncles were loggers. In 1961, his father turned part of his property at the edge of Joe Creek into a campground. It was known as Ross’s Campground and is now the state campground at Pacific Beach. Rick worked at Ross’s Campground and local sawmills while going to Moclips High School.
He loved to hunt and camp with his family and friends and went on yearly trips to Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana. He loved cars and was an original member of Beach Bums Incorporated car club. He especially loved Corvettes and in the past few years had two which he had restored.
Rick lived an honest, colorful life of hard work and play. In the summer of 1971, he and his cousin, Dan Ross, hitchhiked and jumped railroad box cars from Yellowstone to Chicago and back home to Pacific Beach. He met his true love, Carol, at the wedding of his best friends, Terry and Patty Bryant in 1971.
Rick and Carol were married in 1972 and recently celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary. On their first anniversary, they bought two horses which they stabled in his parents’ garage at Pacific Beach until they found their property at Carlisle where they built their family home and reside to this day.
Rick was a worker. He had several log trucks over the years and drove log trucks most of his life. He and his brother, Steve, also ran a sawmill at Copalis Crossing for a couple of years and built houses on their property in Stella, Washington. Rick believed in the barter system and didn’t like to ask for help unless he could do something in return. He loved his farm and was constantly working on something that involved it or the equipment to run it. He was running his excavator and putting in culverts just a few weeks before he passed.
He was old school and didn’t like technology. He had a love-hate relationship with his smart phone.
Rick is survived by his wife Carol and daughter Amy at the family home in Carlisle; his son, Cody (Jamie) and granddaughter, Carly of Ocean Shores; brother, Steve (Vivian) Ross of Kelso; sister Patti (Tom) Tabor of Kalama; brother, Kenny of Kelso; lifelong friend, Terry Bryant and many other true friends as well as cousins, nieces, and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his brother Tom Ross, his parents Norman and Helen Ross, and his sister, Cindy (Larry) Schmidt of Castle Rock. There will be a weekend celebration of his life in the fall for family and friends. Donations can be made to the Virginia Mason Foundation. Anyone who would like to express their condolences or leave a message is requested to do so on the Harrison Family Mortuary website: www.harrisonfamilymortuary.com
