Katharine Janet Ross

Kitty was born in Richmond, Va. to Dr. William E. Crane and Katharine Rowland Crane. In 1946 she married William Chalmers Ross in Charlotte, NC. She was preceded in death by her husband of 47 years and her two siblings, Paul Crane and Effie Crane Rule.

She is survived by her six children and spouses; Katharine Ross Rossing (Boyd) of Middleton, Wi., Elizabeth Ross Neely (Howard) Buchannan, Va., Rebecca Ross Schersten (Mark), Adrian, Mi., William C. Ross (Debra), Athens, Ga., John A. Ross (Lynette Locklear) Athens, Ga., Robert H. Ross (Carolyn) Athens, Ga. Ten Grandchildren and seventeen Great Grandchildren. Family was the center of her life. Events bringing the family together were her most favorite times.

Kitty graduated from Queens College, Charlotte, NC with a B.S. in Psychology. She and Bill settled near Charleston, WV. living first in Nitro and then in St. Albans where they raised their children through high school. She completed a Masters in Special Education at Marshall University and then served as a teacher at the Kanawha Home for Children in Dunbar, WV. She enriched her students’ lives with speakers and her creative approaches in the classroom. In 1977 she and Bill moved to Athens, Ga. and Kitty worked at the Georgia Retardation Center.

Kitty was an accomplished artist and helped with family and college expenses by painting pastel portraits. Her commissioned portraits can be found in many homes in WV. And Ga. Her portraits also grace the homes of many family members.

Before moving in May 2016, to Mulberry Grove in Statham, she lived nine wonderful years at Iris Place Independent Living in Athens, Ga. Kitty was the unofficial Iris Place biographer, interviewing new residents and presenting their life stories in many scrapbooks. The family would like to thank the staff(s) at Mulberry Grove, Iris Place and Compassionate Care Hospice for the wonderful care they provided until the end of her life.

Kitty is lovingly remembered for her creativity, her optimism about life, for making people feel special and most of all, her love of family.

A memorial service will take place at Iris Place with family and friends on Wednesday, August 31 at 2:30 pm.

Memorial gifts can be made to Compassionate Care Hospice Foundation. (cchnet.net)

e direction of Bernstein Funeral Home, Athens, GA.