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James A. Ross
James A. Ross, born in April 1942 in Dayton, Kentucky, went to be with his Lord and Savior early Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 24, 2016. His death was almost immediately followed by a beautiful sunrise letting his loved ones know he was with our Lord in heaven. The sunrise illuminated the entire morning sky, and shone through the bedside window upon his face, giving solace to his loved ones. He passed away peacefully after a long illness, surrounded by his loving family at his home in San Manuel.
Jim was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend. He always put others first in his life and would stop whatever he was doing at the time to help someone in need or just to help them feel good about themselves. If there was a hungry person on the street, he would feed them, and he always, always made people laugh, as that was his mission in life. In the last few years, his favorite hobby was downsized from making playhouses and backyard structures for his children and grandchildren, to making miniature houses and outhouses, always with a beautiful personalized inscription underneath. Every one of his friends must have a wooden outhouse inscribed with “Never take things for granted.”
Jim loved life, his family and friends, but above all he loved ALL of his girls immensely, especially his wife Sigrid. Jim grew up in Kentucky, and he served seven years in the United States Army, with time served in Korea, Hawaii and various places in the U.S. He was the first one in his family to earn a college degree. In 1969, at a bus-stop café in Covington, Kentucky, he met the love of his life Sigrid, who had emigrated from Germany just a short five months before. They married a year later and had three beautiful daughters. Jim and Sigrid moved to Arizona with their firstborn daughter Michelle in 1972, where Jim went to work for Magma Copper Company, which later became BHP. After 25 years of hard work, Jim retired from BHP for health reasons, only one year before the mine was shut down.
Jim was a member of Community Presbyterian Church in San Manuel. He loved to attend Bible Study and to hear the weekly sermons, and he often interjected with his funny thoughts and comments just to make people laugh. He loved the Lord and fully trusted in him. He never took himself too seriously, and his goal was to make his friends and family laugh with his jokes and stories. When they heard him, they often turned toward his wife asking, “Is Jim telling the truth?” His sense of humor brightened the lives of those around him, and he loved to make his grandchildren laugh with his shenanigans.
During the past four months friends and family from near and as far away as Germany came to visit to support him and his family. In October Jim and his wife Sigrid made a trip to Washington State to visit family, especially his granddaughter Ella, who is unable to travel far, as he wanted to see her one more time. Even though he was so ill, he said, “if she cannot come to see me, I will go and see her.” They had a good visit for three weeks, and Jim passed away exactly one week after getting home.
Jim is survived by his wife Sigrid, his daughters Michelle (her husband Edward), Misty, Monique (her husband Sigmund), and all of his grandchildren: Mariah (her husband James), Carmen, Steven, Matthew, Ella and Logan.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, his only sister and his beloved mother-in-law Ella, who passed away in April only seven months earlier. After Jim’s passing on Thanksgiving morning, his granddaughter Mariah prepared a beautiful Thanksgiving meal, and the family celebrated together all of the years they were able to spend with Jim and his peaceful passing into the arms of our Savior. He will be mourned by his family here and Sigrid’s family in Germany.
There will be a Celebration of Jim’s Life on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, at 1 p.m., at Community Presbyterian Church in San Manuel.
One of Jim’s wishes was to not have a church full of crying people, but instead a celebration filled full of laughter, and so please remember funny stories about Jim to share with his family. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Community Presbyterian Church in his memory.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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