Nancy Ross

Nancy will be lovingly missed by her sister Mary White (née Thorne); sons Peter (Yvette) and Michael; grand children Marianne, Jennifer (Rob) and Julien; her great-granddaughter, Sophia and cousin Barb Edwards (Art). She was predeceased by her parents Gladys Mary Redmayne and Harvey Thorne and by the tragic loss of her first and last children, Davy and baby Ian.

Nancy had centuries old Nova Scotia family roots. She was educated at Halifax Ladies College and Dalhousie University (class of 1936) and worked with the YMCA-YWCA in Simcoe, Ontario and Glace Bay. She married RCAF officer Donald Ross in Regina in 1941. She lived in Halifax with their first child while Don served overseas. Don was posted to Ottawa after the war, returning with the family to England for a time in 1950.

Nancy made many interesting, life-long, friends where ever she lived, as the family moved during the next thirty years to Unionville, Ontario; Lexington, Massachusetts and, Los Altos, California. She was a fine hostess, cook and baker, drawing from her vast recipe collection. She was always knitting and tending her gardens and plants.

After Don’s retirement, Nancy devotedly researched and edited the journals of their great-grandfather, published in 1996 as ‘The Diary of a Maritimer, 1816-1901, The Life and Times of Joseph Salter.’ She and Don worked to protect Mi'kma petroglyphs rediscovered in the rocky barrens behind their Bedford home, eventually designated a National Historic Site.

The family thanks the thoughtful and caring staff at St. Vincent’s Nursing Home where Nancy spent her last years, especially Charles Anderson.

Nancy’s cremated remains will be interred next to her husband on Monday, March 17, 2014 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax after a graveside service. A donation to The Friends of McNabs Island Society or to a charity of one’s choice would be appreciated. Thank you.