Daisy Belle Ross

Daisy Belle Ross, 95, of Kennesaw, GA died on October 2, 2022. A funeral service will be held on October 8, 1:00 p.m., at the Winkenhofer Pine Ridge Funeral Home located in Kennesaw, GA. Visitation at the same location will be on October 7 from 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. and October 8 from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Private interment will follow the funeral service at Kennesaw Memorial Park Cemetery. Survivors include daughters Linda S. Ross of Sandy Springs, GA; Brenda R. Durham of Dallas, GA; and son Gary L. Ross of Chatsworth, GA; grandchildren Tara Jones, Nathan Durham, Cindy Whitman, and Jimmy Ross; and several great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Wounded Warriors organization that Daisy supported. Daisy was born on January 9, 1927 in Breckinridge, KY, to the late Wyatt Lambert Haynes and his wife, the late Nannie Beard Haynes. Daisy was the third of six children, all of whom are now deceased.

Daisy met her husband, the late Jim M. Ross, on a double date with one of his friends. The two of them were married on October 6, 1941. Jim was enlisted in the U.S. Army and upon assignment to active duty overseas, he left Daisy in the care of his mother, who ran a boarding house in Alexandria, Virginia.

While living with her mother-in-law, Daisy worked various jobs including secretarial and retail sales. She also worked at the Department of Defense munitions facility (known as Torpedo Station), working on rocket parts, assembly line production, and eventually department administration. Once she was able to join her husband, the two of them shared many adventures living in both Germany and England.

After returning to the U.S., the couple were busy raising their family of two when Jim received an opportunity to work at Lockheed Martin in Marietta, GA. While employed at Lockheed Martin he and Daisy purchased a daycare, Ross Daycare, and owned it for eight years. It was one of the few daycares in the area equipped to care for 50+ children and was state-certified. During this time a third child was born to Jim and Daisy, which completed their family.

In 1965 with the purchase of five-plus acres of property in Kennesaw, Jim and Daisy built their dream home. The daycare was sold and the family moved to Kennesaw. Jim turned his efforts into running a small garage, Ross Garage, also located in Kennesaw. Daisy helped her husband manage the bookkeeping and day-to-day operations. Ross Garage quickly became known for its excellent repair work and was always busy, especially as it was centrally located on downtown’s Main Street. Today the building has been refurbished and is home to a local favorite restaurant, Trackside Grille. Ask for the fried green tomatoes: it was one of Daisy’s favorites!

Never one to be without a project, Jim and Daisy eventually sold Ross Garage and bought property in Cedartown, GA, establishing one of the area’s first mobile home parks. The park was expanded and maintained by them for several years. When Jim passed away in 1985, Daisy managed the park for a few more years before selling it. Still settled in Kennesaw, she focused her energies on her home and family. Daisy, or Miss Daisy as she was often called, was loved by all who knew her and will be missed by many.