Obituary: Robert Bond Ross

Robert Bond Ross, of Hogan Road, Bangor, Maine, and a former longtime Washington, ME resident, died peacefully Christmas morning while being serenaded by Carolers at the Maine Medical Center in Bangor.  He was 77 years old.     

Born in Framingham, MA on September 1, 1935, he was a loving son of Robert J. and Marjorie Bond (Roberts) Ross.  His childhood spent in Wrentham, MA, he was a graduate of the former Wrentham Centre High School, and of the Franklin Institute in Boston where he learned the skills of a draftsman.     

Robert had proudly served his country as an Airman Second Class in the United States Air Force during the Korean War.       

Bob had retired as a Forest Ranger for the State of Maine, and had served as an account clerk for the Forestry Program.  He previously had been a draftsman for the Foxboro Company for many years, and had previously co-owned the Washington General Store and Post Office in Washington, ME, which he had operated with his former wife Patricia (Pelypec) Hamalainen.      

An avid outdoorsman, he particularly loved to fish.  A former member of the Mass. Beach Buggy Association, he had enjoyed the beaches and bays of Cape Cod and Maine.     

A former volunteer firefighter, he had been a member of the Maine Forestry Firefighters that were deployed to fight large out of control fires across the Nation.  In 1977 he proudly served as a volunteer at the spectacular Marble Cone Fire on the Big Sur in California.  The fire burned three weeks and ravaged 178,000 acres of forest.     

 Bob is survived by his loving daughter LynEllen Ross-Simmons and her Partner Melanie of Higganum, CT, two dear sisters, Lynne and her husband Philip Wood of Harvard, MA, and Beth E. Wagner of Oklahoma City, OK, and a dear brother Hon. Richard J. Ross of Wrentham.  Also survived by loving granddaughters, Ashley Hooper, and Elizabeth Benoit, both of Washington, ME,  he was the uncle of Dr. Kristopher Wagner of Temple Texas, and Ian Wagner of Oklahoma City, Chase and Chandler Ross of Wrentham, MA and Maeghan Ross of Haarlem, Holland.     

Bob’s wishes were for cremation and a family memorial to honor him will be on Father’s Day (June 16) in Camden, Maine.      

Obituary courtesy of Ross Funeral Home.