Mr. William Harvey Ross

Bill was born in Tonasket, Washington and raised in the Okanagan Falls area. He worked on his father’s ranch, and helped many years on the family farms in the Warner area of Southern Alberta. It was in Seattle where he found his lifelong career of Architectural Illustrating and raised his family. Eventually, he came to settle in Calgary where he continued his career and expanded his love of art through the many murals he completed in Calgary, Medicine Hat and Toppenish, WA.

It was in the Calgary area where he met Cathie during a ‘set-up’ meeting arranged by both their cousins, who so happened to be married to each other! After much persuasion on Bill’s side, there was a second date arranged and as they say, the rest is history. They were married on November 29, 1989, blending their families.

Bill will be lovingly remembered by his wife Cathie (Catherine) Ross, son Darren (Laurie) Ross of Puyallup, WA, daughter Deborah Ross of Snohomish, WA, along with Cathie’s children Kimberly (Richard) Peciulis of Calgary, AB, Leanne Palmarchuk (Travis Nedoin) of Calgary, AB, Carrie (Jayson) Bryant of Shawnigan Lake, BC, and Jami (Michael) Talley of Surprise, AZ. Bill will be also be sadly missed by his step mother Jane Stelkia, half sisters Marie Stelkia and Dora (Rodney) Stelkia, and half brother Aaron Stelkia, all from the OIB in Oliver, BC. Bill will be dearly missed by his many grandchildren - Amanda, Steven (Youngji), Tatum, Mathieu (Annastasia), Samson, Cody, Michael, Brandy, Reid, Kori, Cedar, Marley, Caymyn and Arie; as well as his great-grand children Eli, Austin, Bohdi, Emilia, Camille, and Aiden. Bill will always be in the hearts of his numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, and the many children who came through Cathie’s day home.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents Mable Durrant (nee: Spencer) and Robert Harvey Ross, daughter Dana Lazkowski, sister Carol Weeks and half brother Robert Stelkia. Cathie and family wish to thank the nurses, doctors, and staff of the Rockyview General Hospital units 76 and 94 for their care and compassion given to Bill during his stay.

Special thanks to wonderful friends Phil DiSilva and Orlo Tveter for their help with photos and contributions. A warm hug of thanks to Sheldon Janzen for his life-long friendship and a shared love of antiquing.

From Phil DaSilva, friend and business partner:

I met Bill in the summer of 1978 when he was introduced as a new employee at a large Calgary architectural firm where I worked. His position was an architectural illustrator, and I was the graphic designer. When the workday was over, we both went to the same bus stop. It turned out that Bill lived close to my home. We chatted and quickly became friends.

Our talks led us to talking about starting a business once we had the money. In a few months, just before Christmas they laid Bill off and then promptly commissioned him to do four architectural renderings. That gave us the money to start our business, Silva Design. Bill named the business, he never looked for the limelight. Our agreement was he would do what he loved to do, the architectural renderings and I do everything else, such as would meet with clients regarding projects to negotiate price and to find out about timing, then bill and collect, essentially becoming a buffer between Bill and the architects.

Bill was in high demand, his skill as an illustrator had large US architects flying him to their offices all over the United States to illustrate their designs.

Bill is self-taught, there were no schools other than architectural schools that taught this type of very technical illustrations.

He attended at the University of Washington, School of Architecture and then Art Centre of Los Angeles. He was unable to continue his education because he had a newborn, so he applied at architects and offered his basic rendering skills and then honed his skills.

Bill was a very determined man. He set his goals and did not let anything to stop him. He was fearless. Many of you know him as a sweet kind man, which he was, but he had this incredible drive that overcame any of his shyness so he could look after his family. When he worked for the first few architects, he would bus to work and when the bus drivers went on strike he walked the miles to and from work. Bill was a tough ranch boy.

Bill Ross was born in Tonasket, Washington, United States and raised in Oliver, British Columbia, Canada. Bill Ross began his career in 1961 and has won several awards and commissions. Bill’s beautifully crafted drawings have been featured in books, magazines, and brochures. Bill’s pen and ink drawings were amazing. The detail, texture, light and shadow were all created with a technique called cross-hatching. The rendering of the Banff Springs Hotel took him over 100 hours to complete.

He sometimes would add a water colour wash to a pen and ink drawing if a client requested. There were times the architect would request a colour rendering without his pen and ink work and again Bill was able to convey the beauty of the design with his colour renderings.

When he had time between projects Bill would illustrate historical and religious buildings. He did not like to sit around; he was always starting another project.

Bill’s sense of humour, love of his children and grandchildren, and his talent as an artist will be missed.

From Orlo Tveter, friend and fellow lover of antiques:

Bill was an artist who not only had an appreciation for fine art, but constantly contributed to the craft through his detailed pen and ink drawings and watercolor paintings. His love of art and antiques crossed many periods; from ancient Roman, Egyptian art, Greek architecture to more modern pieces such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Mid Century Modern and the Modernistic Industrial Age. Bill could pick up a modern

fork and comment on the form and style as easily as a bronze art deco elevator plate from the 1930’s. His research and eye for detail captured in his artwork laid the foundation for a lifetime of studying historic artifacts and eclectic old pieces.

He had a keen eye for sourcing out antiques at thrift stores and even government surplus sales where he purchased unique treasures that others overlooked. His studio became his own inspiration; surrounded by murals, paintings, bronze statues, drawings and antiques it allowed him a space to create. His work defined his interests whether it was Morman Temples, Heritage Paintings or, his favorite Frank Lloyd Wright architect.

Because of Bill’s expertise in paintings and rendering, he was often invited to give talks to special interest groups. One of these groups was the First Canadian Collectors Club, where Bill spoke about the Frank Lloyd Wright pavilion that was built in Banff, Alberta. Bill had not only done many renderings of the building, but had even built an exact scale replica of the Pavilion.

Bill made many friends through his affiliation with collectors, artists, antiquers and pickers with whom he associated. But it was always his family that brought him the most joy, attending practices, games and tournaments, cheering on his grandchildren. An outing with Bill was always exciting, whether it was the current piece of art that he was working on or a story about the mural he had completed with his son-in-law, there was a colorful quote.

Bill never adopted the snobbish artist mentality, he always looked at himself as a working artist who could always learn from the next fellow. That humbleness and engaging nature always made him approachable and endearing to clients and friends. Although his work has won numerous awards and his artwork hangs in many great buildings to live on, it was simply knowing Bill, that was the greatest honor.

As an artist, Bill’s canvas was colorful and extensive, his life varied and meaningful. His legacy will live on through his gift of artwork and kindness to others.