Don Wilburn Ross

Henderson, Nevada - Don Wilburn Ross, 82, passed away Monday, December 23, 2024 at St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Henderson, NV. He was born March 9,1942 in Comanche, Oklahoma to Allye Arzella Dillon Ross and Park Gordon Ross. He married Janice Riggs January 15, 1983 in Hatch, Utah.

 Don was raised in Healdton, OK. He was an avid hunter and reader and read every book in the school library. He was active in social clubs and started his own high-school monthly dances of which he was the DJ with his own set of records and record player. He graduated from Healdton High School in 1959. He attended college for a year before going to Idaho to work for the Forest Service as a fire scout in a remote look-out over Hells Canyon and the Snake River.

 He was called into service for the United States Army. He was gassed in an accident at OTC resulting in hospitalization, and a permanent cough and lung damage. After recovery, he was sent to Germany and had Top Secret clearance where he served as an assistant to his Commanding Officer. Upon release from the Army, he returned to Idaho to work. 

Don started working at a young age in his dad’s service station and other business entities as well as other jobs around town, including setting pins for the bowling alley. In high school, he worked in a hardware store where he learned to install and repair many appliances, air conditioning units, motors, guns, etc. Other work experiences included: working on oil drilling rigs, drilling and blasting, building roads in Idaho & Washington state, managing a bar, running his own logging business, and helping manage an apple packing plant. He was an EMT and a deputy Sheriff. He had his own surveying and assaying business and stayed busy surveying and filing mining claims and operating small mining operations in Nevada, building mining camps and training miners in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Alaska and Ghana, Africa, along with several other entrepreneurial adventures. He was a skillful engineer and refined many systems in the work field for better performance. He could repair just about anything and was often called “The Fixer”. He enjoyed helping other people. Don had a quick wit and an entertaining sense of humor. He could diffuse many stressful situations with his humorous comments. As the owner or manager of multiple jobs in various occupations, he looked out for the welfare of his employees and their needs. Most were very loyal to him and enjoyed working under his direction. 

Don took great delight in hunting, having dogs, fishing, camping, being outdoors, reading, science discoveries,(especially astronomy and anything in the medical and science fields), chemistry, technology, politics, and news (he was an avid “news Junkie”). He enjoyed playing Pool & Chess, flying, airplanes, history, watching sports, and listening to music. He loved to sing and had a good voice. He liked cooking, often reinventing and personalizing recipes. He took pleasure in traveling and seeing the country. Trips were accompanied with the radio tuned in to music, news, or Dodger baseball games. He also had cassettes or CD’s with all the great 50’s & 60’s era songs playing, to which he sang along. “On The Road Again” became one of his theme songs. He enjoyed meeting people from other cultures, countries, and walks of life. Within minutes he created friendships and developed lasting relationships with people he met from all across the United States and the World. 

 Don is survived by: his ex-wife, Janice Ross, His son Aaron Ross (Adrienne), daughter Samantha Prestwich (Brady), son Jared Ross (Sara), daughter Janika Ross, 9 grandchildren, his brother Duane Ross, and sisters Bettye Lindsey and JoAnn Ross. 

He is preceded in death by his father, mother, and brother, David. 

Funeral Services will be a private family memorial.

We invite family and friends to leave condolences or memories at www.starmortuary.com